Tears Aren't Made to Fall
by DancerInTheDark101
Summary: After the BEGA fiasco, Kai vanishes. Two years later he reappears, the CEO of two multi-million dollar companies and a handful of secrets. With the new World Champs just around the corner, things start to go downhill and fast. UPDATED! 29/07/12
1. Finding Kai

A/N: Hey all. Here is a new fic from me…I know I haven't updated TBR in quite a while, but I've kinda hit a standstill with it. It _will_ be finished though. Hope you all like the first chapter of Tears Aren't Made to Fall.

Disclaimer: I don't Beyblade or any characters associated. I am not making any profit from this. This fiction is written purely with entertainment in mind.

Notes: This is set two/three years after the end of G Revolutions. Kai is seventeen, going on eighteen.

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**Tears Aren't Made to Fall**

**DancerInTheDark101**

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Chapter 1

Kai stood on crest of the hill, looking down at the grey building that had housed the latest world championships. He could hear the screams of the fans, the eruption of noise signalling that the final of the latest world championships was underway. Kai had no idea who was participating in the final, although he had a feeling that Tyson would most probably be one of the competitors.

Crimson eyes sliding shut as he stood on the hill, letting the warm rays of sunlight wash over his body, Kai sighed and gripped the long-unused beyblade in his pocket. It had been a while since Dranzer had been out for a spin, almost three years to be exact. While it sounded like a long time, it only felt like yesterday when he had thought Dranzer had been lost for good.

The affair with the BEGA bladers had happened almost three years before. It was the last time Kai had participated in a beyblading match, choosing to retire from the sport while he was still young and didn't have a lot to lose.

He had disappeared from the beyblading scene all together, choosing to permanently move back to Russia where the house his parents had left to him in their will was waiting, uninhabited. It had taken a great deal of time and money to make the rather large house inhabitable again, but Kai had relished in the task. It was somewhere he could call home, somewhere where he could be closer to his lost family.

Many times, Tyson and the other bladers had tried to contact him. Never once did he pick up their calls and even when he heard that they were coming to Russian in search of him, they never found him. The house was something Kai hadn't even told Tala about.

Opening his eyes again, Kai stared at the building that had once been a haven for him. Beyblading had been his life at one point. There had been nothing that blading couldn't cure. Now, though… now he just couldn't seem to bring himself to go back to that life. It seemed so childish and pointless in comparison to the life he was living now.

The screams from the stadium grew louder and Kai couldn't help but let a smirk dissolve onto his features. No doubt Tyson – if he were the one blading – would love the attention. The navy-haired blader would be lapping up the crowd's enthusiasm like a dehydrated puppy given a bowl of water.

Sighing, Kai grabbed a pair of dark sunglasses from his pocket and slipped onto his face, obscuring his red eyes from view. Turning away from the stadium and the screaming fans, he walked over to where a sleek, black and white 1970 Buick GSX was parked.

A grin slipped onto his features as he ambled over to his car. He had purchased the old muscle car just after arriving in America a few months back. Since then, he had become strangely attached to the vehicle. It was an old, heavy car and ate gas like a freakin garbage disposal, but boy did it have some power to it.

Kai grabbed his keys out and unlocked the driver's side door before sliding into the driver's seat. The key was put in the ignition and with a flick of his wrist, the beast of a car roared into life, the V8 engine purring with power. Kai grinned and turned on the stereo and as he pulled out from the curb with a squeal of tires, the beginnings of Avenged Sevenfold's _Critical Acclaim_ pounded from the speakers.

"_Shhh… quiet you might piss somebody off_

_Like me motherfucker you've been at it for too long_

_While you feed off others' insecurities_

_You stand in front of me and bite the hand that feeds"_

Rolling down the window, Kai let the rush of wind tease at his slate and dark blue hair, the front bangs whipping to and fro in front of his sunglasses. He turned off the quiet street and onto the main street, garnering several looks as the tires skidded slightly from putting too much acceleration into the turn.

Then he drove. He didn't know how long he drove for, but he didn't arrive at the hotel where he was staying until well after dark. Since retiring from beyblading and getting his drivers licence, driving mindlessly around for hours on end had become a relaxant of sorts for him. Having the windows down, wind blowing through the car and the music blasting calmed him if he was in an enraged mood or even if he was feeling depressed.

Kai ushered the car into the underground car park reserved for customers staying at the hotel and locked it before heading into the elevator that would take him to floor eleven. No one else was in the elevator and Kai pressed the button for 11, waiting patiently for the shrill 'ding' that would alert him to the arrival of his floor.

When the 'ding' sounded, Kai left the elevator and stepped into the brightly lit corridor, turning left and heading towards the last door on the right. He pulled out a swipe card and let the black strip on the back slide through the machine, unlocking the door.

Once inside, Kai dropped his keys, swipe card, sunglasses and beyblade on the kitchen table and opened the fridge to see what there was that he could eat. He hadn't switched on any lights yet, preferring the darkness to the brightness of the lights that hurt his eyes.

After grabbing out an instant meal from the freezer, the seventeen-year-old unwrapped the meal and placed it in the microwave, and hit the start button. It would be ready in ten minutes, more than enough time to get things sorted.

Yawning, Kai looked briefly at the clock, noting that it was almost twelve. He then ambled into the bathroom, switching on the light and wincing at the stark light burned his right eye. He moved to the basin and grabbed a bottle of liquid and unscrewed the cap.

He looked into the white-edged mirror above the sink and sighed. His right eye was still a different colour to his left. It was a deep red, almost black. But Kai knew that it would likely never change back to the original crimson colour. After the accident, he had lost the majority of sight in that eye and according to the many eye specialists he had been to, the change in colour was the result of that.

Tipping the bottle upside down, Kai titled his head back and let two drops of the solution hit his darker eye. It stung a little at the point of impact before his blinks distributed the liquid all over the surface of his eye.

Grimacing at the slightly grainy feel of the sheen over his eye, Kai placed the bottle back on the counter and screwed his eyes shut, knowing that it made the graininess disappear faster than if he didn't do it.

Sighing, Kai looked back into the mirror and saw the slightly blue sheen across his darker pupil. It made him look strange, having one crimson eye, one dark bluish black. But there was nothing he could do until doctors invented some kind of miracle surgery to repair the damage done.

Looking over to where the shower was situated, Kai decided to have a quick shower before eating the microwave meal. He turned the nozzle on, flicking the handle to between HOT and WARM. A spray of water shot out from the showerhead, the sound of water hitting the floor of the cubicle strangely soothing.

While the water warmed up, Kai went to the bedroom and grabbed out a pair of black boxes and an equally black baggy shirt to wear. He also grabbed one of the hotel's fluffy white towels and headed back towards the bathroom.

Steam flowed from the small, white-tiled room and Kai surrendered to the warmth it provided as he entered the room. Stripping his clothes off and tossing them into the plastic basket beside the door, Kai stepped under the jet of hot water, letting the droplets hit his body, loosening the tense muscles.

The water was hot, hot enough to sting when they hit his flesh, but not hot enough that it actually hurt. He grabbed the soap from the shelf screwed to the wall and began the task of washing himself. Kai hissed a little as the soapy cloth brushed over a tender scar on his left side, disturbing the recently healed skin.

After finishing washing himself, Kai let the water continue to flow from the showerhead for a few more minutes, only getting out when he could hear the beeping of the microwave, signalling that his meal was ready.

Turning the shower off, Kai dried himself with the hideously fluffy towel and got into his bedclothes. He strode out into the kitchen and opened the microwave, stepping back slightly as a wave of steam erupted from the now-open compartment.

Kai looked at the microwave roast beef meal, curling his lips slightly in a grimace at the sight of the plastic-looking food. Eugh, he really hated eating instant meals, but he hadn't thought about the time when he was out driving, otherwise he would have stopped off somewhere to get a decent feed.

Moving into the lounge, Kai slumped into the cushions of the large, comfortable couch and switched on the TV. He noticed that repeats of the earlier news coverage was on and tuned in, interested to see what was happening.

It turned out that the main coverage of today's news was of the finals of the beyblading world championships. True to his thoughts, Tyson had been in the final. It was his opponent that startled Kai slightly as the reporter on the TV turned towards the two young men standing next to each other.

"_So Tyson," _the reporter was saying to the grinning boy. _"How does it feel to have won another world championships? This win makes it six years consecutively now?"_

Tyson's face lit up at the mention of his wins. Kai rolled his eyes at the boy's antics. He hadn't changed a bit. _"Yeah!"_ was the enthusiastic reply. _"It feels great to have won again, especially against a great blader like Tala. He really took me by surprise this year so it makes the win even better!"_

Kai was in a state of shock. Tyson actually sounded _normal_ for once…how much had the boy changed in the years of his absence?

"_Ha!" _Tyson continued, laughing and pointing a finger at the redhead standing beside him. _"Beat that, Tala! I win again! I win again!"_

_So much for him changing…_ Kai thought, smirking at Tyson's drama-filled actions. The reporter now turned to one of his life-long friends. Tala seemed the same as always. Quiet, reserved and cold.

"So, Tala. How does it feel to come second again? I'm sure that your goal was to win this year after losing to Tyson many times before."

"_Yeah, I wanted to beat him." _Tala replied, blue eyes flashing with something Kai hadn't seen before. _"Everyone wants to beat Tyson. But I'm not too bothered because Tyson's not the one I _really _want to fight…" _Tala turned to face the camera directly and Kai frowned. What was he up to?

"Kai, I've said this every year since you disappeared, but I'm gonna say it again: where ever you are, I still want that rematch. And one day, I'll get my rematch and this time I'll win."

Then the picture switched from that of Tyson and Tala, to a shot of all the teams that participated in the world championships. Kai could see White Tiger X, the PPB All Starz, the Blitzkrieg Boys, Bladebreakers and even the BEGA Bladers in amongst the throes of crowd. An unfamiliar longing ached in his chest as Kai took a bite of roast beef smothered in gravy. He saw a red light glowing from the kitchen table and saw Dranzer as the source of light.

Standing up slowly, Kai placed his half-finished meal on the coffee table and made his way over to where Dranzer was lying. He picked up the blue and read beyblade, familiar warmth spreading through his body at the contact.

He didn't know why this was happening now. In the past two and half years since retiring, he hadn't felt even a single ounce of regret for the decision of retirement. He still didn't regret what he had done, but now…now the pull of the sport seemed to be stronger than ever. Maybe it was seeing all his old friends still being an active part of the sport even though they were in their late teenage years. Maybe it was because this was the first time he had watched any kind of news about beyblading since his retirement.

No matter what the reason, Dranzer seemed to harbour the same feelings and that was something Kai couldn't ignore.

Groaning in frustration, Kai gripped Dranzer tightly, feeling the sharp edges of the attack ring digging into the flesh of his palm. There was still a sliver of doubt in his mind though. He didn't know if his body would be able to handle the intense battles he was accustomed to. After the accident, it had taken months of recuperation to get back on his feet and well enough to live alone. And then there was the sight problem. Doctors were saying that he would need more operations in the near future if he didn't want to lose the sight in that eye altogether.

Maybe it wasn't even worth it. He was old news now anyway. There were bound to be younger and better teams and bladers out there. Who knew if he could even keep up with Tyson anymore?

Kai slammed his hand onto the table, wincing as Dranzer's attack ring dug painfully into his hand, drawing small beads of blood. A headache was starting to pound at his temples, so Kai decided to worry about his worries after he got a decent sleep.

"Get yourself together, Kai," he mumbled as he walked into the bedroom, eyes scanning quickly over the room before pulling back the covers on the bed and slipping beneath them. It wasn't long before he succumbed to sleep and was caught in the throes of a recurring nightmare, except…it wasn't a nightmare.

It was always the same. It never changed. It started with him driving along in the same black Honda. Why he ever picked that car was beyond him. The song playing on the radio was Don't Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult. He had the windows down, wind blowing through his two-toned hair, nodding his head to the beat of the song.

The scenery was dark, the moon high in the black void of sky, shining it's light down on the sleeping world. He glanced down at the speedometer, noticing that he was just under the speed limit. Smirking, he planted his foot down on the accelerator and felt the car react, starting to speed up along the deserted highway road.

_A blare of rock music blasted from the passenger seat and glancing over he saw his black cell phone lighting up as a message came through. Leaning over while keeping his eyes on the road, he picked up the small contraption and looked at the screen. It was a call. _

_Seeing a certain person's name on the screen, he hit the 'end call' button and flicked the phone back onto the passenger seat. It was in that instant, that everything went wrong. _

_A loud horn blasted through the otherwise silent night and he stared straight ahead as the out-of-control truck skidded towards him. Yanking the wheel to the right, he struggled to make the car react as he wanted it to. _

_Panic started to set in as the truck careened closer. His car started to slide out of control, right into the path of the oncoming vehicle. A raw scream ripped from his throat as the two vehicles got closer. He could see the shocked and horrified expression on the other driver's face before the inevitable collision happened. _

_In an instant, the cool wind rushing through his hair morphed into a fiery hot inferno, white explosions erupting all around him as he screamed through the pain. Glass shattered somewhere and agony seared through his eyes, suddenly cutting off his vision. _

_He could hear the sound of metal tearing, being ripped apart by the force of the other vehicle; hear screaming coming from somewhere, unable to tell if it was from himself or from the other driver. He could feel the heat of flames licking his skin; feel the sharp stings as glass shards were embedded in his skin. He could taste blood on his lips; rough coughs ripping from his body making the copper taste stronger than ever. He could smell burning rubber, burning flesh as the ruthless flames devoured it. He could see nothing; the pain in his eyes showed nothing but complete darkness. _

_And then, in an agonising detonation of white-hot flames, he was thrown to the darkness, unable to see, feel, hear or taste anything. There was only oblivion…_

Kai woke, shooting upright in bed as he shook from the horrific images and feelings associated with the accident. Shit. He hadn't had that nightmare for months. He had finally thought he had gotten over the damn thing. Obviously not…

"Shit," Kai whispered, running a slender hand through his messy hair. He glanced at the clock seeing that it was seven in the morning. For once he had slept more than four hours. Sliding his legs out of bed, Kai stood and opened the curtains, letting the light in. He winced as his right eye stung. It still baffled him, how the light hurt his eye so much when he could barely see a damn thing out of it.

Sighing, Kai went about getting ready for the day. He picked up Dranzer and looked at the bit chip, wondering…

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Tyson sat at a local restaurant with his friends, joking and laughing. Max sat next to him on his right, Ray on his left. Kenny and Hilary were both across the table while Daichi sat between them. They were all chatting away, waiting for Mr. Dickinson to show. Apparently he had some important news for them. Tyson had no idea whether the news was good or bad. Hopefully it was good news. He was still feeling too happy about his latest win that he didn't want it dampened.

Finally, Mr. D walked in, a smile on his face.

"So Mr. D, what ya want to tell us?" he demanded, wanting to get on with eating the delicious meal that had just appeared in front of him. He eyed the meal before looking over to the head of the BBA.

"I've found Kai…"

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A/N: What did everyone think? Hopefully the next chapter will be up within the next few days. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought :) Thanks for reading!

-DancerInTheDark101-


	2. Headaches

A/N: OMG, wow you guys ROCK! I never thought that I would get the reception for this fic that I did. I got 14 reviews for chapter 1 – the most I've ever gotten for a first chapter.

Thanks so much to: x-Black-Dranzer-x, Rapunzelle, dark-phoenix-4eva, d1bontemp, FlyingShadow666, -izza-x23-, FallenHope-Angel, OnlyNotReally, mimic shalle, Miako6, phoenix-falling, black angel falling, pheonix80 and marishka91.

Soundtrack: I've been listening to The Birthday Massacre's _Walking With Strangers_ while writing this fic.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1

Special note: There is some information given in this chapter that is not canon to the show. I have taken liberties with writing Kai's past and other details about him and the other characters, as I am trying to make this fic as realistic as possible (with beyblading involved of course).

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Tears Aren't Made to Fall

**DancerInTheDark101**

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Chapter 2

Ray gasped as Mr. D revealed the information that they had wanted to hear for years. Kai leaving had been hard on them all, especially since they didn't know where he had gone or even if he was still alive. Those last thoughts sent a shockwave through Ray as he stared at the head of the BBA. Did Mr. Dickinson mean that they'd found Kai…dead?

"Is…is he okay, Mr. D?" he demanded, pushing his food aside as he stood up, the chair slamming backwards with a screech. Kai had been one of the people he felt he could connect to the best out of the team. Tyson…well Tyson was slightly too immature to have a decent conversation with. Max, although a nice kid, seemed to always been on a sugar high. Whenever he tried to have a conversation with Kenny, there were technical computer terms thrown in. Most of the time Ray had to ask Kenny to re-explain things.

The Nekojin had lost count of how many midnight conversations he and Kai had had, back while they were touring the countries for the world championships. Ray was sure that it was probably nowhere near as much as Kai would have had with the Blitzkrieg Boys, but he felt that out of the Bladebreakers, he was the closest to Kai.

Sighing as Mr. Dickinson ushered him to sit back down, Ray planted himself back in the chair and ignoring the plate of food in front of him, focused on the older man.

"Yes, I have been told that Kai is in good health." Mr. Dickinson paused before carrying on, wondering how the group before him would take the next lot of news. "Actually…my sources say that he's currently staying in a hotel not far from the American BBA Headquarters."

Eyes widening as a gasp left his lips, Ray stared at Mr. Dickinson. Kai was in _America_? How had they not found out earlier? They had been in the country for almost a month now, with all the hype and exhibition matches leading up to the BBA World Championship finals. Ray glanced at the other members of the Bladebreakers, noticing that their mouths were hanging open in shock. The Nekojin had a feeling that he looked exactly the same.

"But… but how?!" Tyson exclaimed, jumping up from his seat, inadvertently knocking over the bowl of soup placed on the table. The steaming liquid spilt all over the table and onto the boy's clothes, eliciting a loud squeal from Tyson.

Eyes widening in disbelief and laughter, Ray stared at Tyson as he started to cry out in pain, obviously over dramatising the whole scene. He couldn't help but chuckle as Tyson smacked his toe on the chair and started yelling at the chair. Tyson was definitely a comedic relief.

It took a while, but eventually Tyson settled down enough for Mr. Dickinson to carry on with his explanation. Although watching Tyson dancing around and squealing had been entertaining, Ray really wanted to know what was going on with Kai, and it seemed Mr. D was the only one who knew anything.

"I'm not quite sure as to _why_ Kai is in America, but I've received word that he's been here for approximately two months. He hasn't been seen anywhere near the stadium and the witnesses to have thought to have seen him said that he was just carrying on with everyday chores – grocery shopping, appointments with businessmen."

Mr. Dickinson took a deep breath and was about to continue speaking when Max piped up. Ray looked over at the blonde, wondering what could be on his mind.

"Wait," came the slightly confused reply. "Why would Kai be visiting businessmen? He's only seventeen, isn't he?"

"That's a really good point, Max," Kenny added, at the same time pulling his laptop out of the shoulder bag lying on the floor by his feet. He lifted the lid, powering up the sleek silver contraption and started tapping away at the keys.

"Well, you see," Mr. Dickinson started, clearing his voice. "Kai is now the owner and CEO of BIOVOLT and Hiwatari Enterprises." Ray felt his mouth drop open. Kai was in charge of _both_ BIOVOLT and Hiwatari Enterprises? Holy _shit…_

But before Mr. D could continue on speaking, there was a shout from where Kenny was staring intently at his laptop screen. Everyone's attention immediately shifted from Mr. D to the short teen.

"Aha!" Kenny cried out triumphantly, his glasses slipping as he stood up. Ray looked quizzically at the boy before glancing at the computer screen as it was turned to face everyone. He found himself staring into the picture of a face that he hadn't seen for many years.

"I searched the BBA database to see what kind of information they had compiled on Kai. I've managed to find his beyblading profile, championship statistics, family history, pretty much everything you would want to know about Kai. However," there was a slight pause as Kenny shifted the laptop back around to him and quickly read through some information. "There doesn't seem to be any new information about him since a few weeks after the BEGA incident. It states that Voltaire and Boris were arrested and put in prison and Kai was selected as the single heir to both Hiwatari Enterprises and BIOVOLT, effective as of immediately. But there's nothing after that. Strange…"

Ray watched listened patiently as Kenny rambled off random facts about Kai. He glanced around at the others to see them listening intently to what Kenny was saying. Realising that there could be some stuff said about Kai that none of them knew, Ray tuned in more accurately.

"Kai was born on August 2nd 1989 to Nikolai and Mikaliya Hiwatari in the Moscow General Hospital. Born one month premature, he was kept in neonatal care for two weeks before being allowed home where he lived with his parents for the next five years…"

Ray's eyes narrowed. There was no way this information was on the BBA database. "Kenny…" he drawled, letting suspicion lace the word. He saw Kenny's face redden and the young teen hid behind the lid of the laptop and that was when Ray knew for certain. Obviously not wanting Dr. Dickinson to find out, Kenny had hacked into a secure website of some sort and pulled out a whole bunch of info on their stoic, ex-captain.

"Hehe…" was the cringing reply from Kenny. Ray saw the boy swallow nervously before glancing at Mr. Dickinson, only to see that the man's eyes were soft. He wasn't angry at all.

"Mr. D?" Tyson asked, having finally clicked onto what the silent conversation between Ray and Kenny had been about. "Aren't you mad?"

Ray could safely say that he hadn't seen Stanley Dickinson look so soft and mellow ever before in all his years of beyblading. And the man's next words shocked him too.

"Back when Kai's father was young, I was an acquaintance with the coach of his beyblading team. They were called the Demolition Boys – a name that still stands today, in the form of the Blitzkrieg Boys. Voltaire Hiwatari was the coach of the team back then, and Nikolai – his son – was the captain. I probably shouldn't say too much, as you know how Kai is about his past, but I can say this: I was around Kai for much of his childhood and watched him grow."

Mr. Dickinson paused and Ray saw him look in the direction of Kenny, who was now cowering behind the laptop. "I know that the information you've gathered isn't on the BBA database. The means of which you have gathered the facts I do not agree with, but in this case I will let it slide. I know that you have been worried about Kai, but I think this discussion would be best left until Kai can tell you himself."

Ray was disappointed that he wasn't going to learn anything new about the stoic teenager, but maybe, if they got Kai back, then he would be able to tell them some things about himself. Maybe the two and a half years away mellowed his cold attitude?

_Nah…what am I thinking? Kai will always be the same. He wouldn't be Kai if he wasn't. _

"Right," Ray stated, breaking the awkward silence that had enveloped the table. "Back onto the original train of thought here. So Kai's in America and apparently on business. What can we do so that we could meet up with him, Mr. D?"

Tyson piped up with an idea, which everyone shot down. Ray had to laugh. The nervous tension that had consumed the occupants at the table soon dispersed as they started to converse on how they could con Kai into seeing them again – if they could find him.

* * *

Kai looked up from the menu he was gazing through as a waitress arrived, pen and paper ready in her hand. He quickly scanned through the rest of the page and ordered a strong, black cup of coffee and BLT sandwich. He wasn't particularly hungry, but he knew that he had to eat sometime, even if it was only half a meal.

The day was as beautiful as the day before. There were only a few sparse clouds lingering, barely even visible against a clear blue sky. A warm breeze floated through the small outdoor area of the café he was sitting in, making the slate bangs fly around haphazardly. Kai flicked the annoying strands of hair out of his face before looking down at the papers resting on the table.

God, he didn't think he would ever get used to doing so much damn paperwork. Earlier that morning, he had gone to see one of the main investors in a new project BIOVOLT was undertaking. Of course, the company was completely legal now, not dabbling in any underground researching facilities and other experimentation procedures.

There was just one problem with going legal – there was too much god-forsaken paperwork! Groaning at the lines and lines of black typed wording that he had to read through, Kai lifted a hand and rubbed at his temple, hoping to ease the headache that he felt starting to pound at his head.

He took off his sunglasses, rubbing at his eyes before slipping the dark item back onto his face. Kai never went anywhere without his sunglasses. For one, they hid the discolouration of his right eye, and secondly, there were actually prescription glasses that helped the vision in his damaged eyes slightly, protecting it from the blinding sunlight. If he didn't have his sunglasses on, he normally wore a specialised contact lens that did the same job without the bulky frame.

"Sir?" a young voice spoke up from beside him. Looking in that direction, Kai saw his saviour. The waitress had a large cup of coffee balanced on a tray, the BLT sitting nicely made on a place beside the beverage.

Kai muttered a 'thanks' before taking the food and placing it on the table. He picked up the cup and took a long gulp of the strong liquid, wincing slightly as it scalded his tongue and throat. Coughing, Kai placed the cup back on the tray and pushed the top sheet of paper forward into the small amount of shade that littered the table.

The heading read: BIOVOLT Corporation

Below, many paragraphs of complex wording filled the page. Kai flitted through the text, wondering why on hell people had to use so many damn intricate words to get a simple point across! _Crap. This isn't helping my headache…_

Taking a small bite of the BLT, Kai got to the bottom of the page and saw the part where he was supposed to sign. Sighing, he grabbed a pen from the bag slumped on the seat beside him and quickly scrawled his signature on the dotted line. Yeah, he really wanted to get this beyblade stadium built – along with the training facilities and camp, but he was so sick of signing his damn name that at one point he seriously considered changing his name.

Although he had retired from beyblading nearly three years before hand, Kai hadn't cut himself completely out of the loop. Hiwatari Enterprises and BIOVOLT were primarily beyblading corporations, so that meant he still had to have _some _involvement in the sport. And when the board of BIOVOLT had suggested a state-of-the-art beyblade stadium, training facilities and a beyblading training camp, he couldn't exactly say no.

After signing his name on another dozen pieces of paper, Kai downed the rest of his coffee and took a couple more bites of the sandwich, barely noticing that he hadn't even eaten half of it. He grabbed the black bag, stuffed everything inside it and walked inside the café to pay.

"That'll be seven ninety, thanks," the cashier said as Kai handed the slip of paper with his order on it to him. Pulling out one of his many credit cards, Kai flashed the Visa in the teenager's face and proceeded to finish the transaction.

Ten minutes later, the slate-haired teen was driving along the main highway, some rock band he had never heard of blasting through the speakers. Through the music, Kai almost missed the distinct sound of his cell phone ringing and once the sound reached his ears, reached over and plucked the black contraption from his bag.

A frown settled on his features as the screen showed an unknown number. It wasn't very often that someone unknown called him. He had every person he needed to contact programmed into the memory.

Apprehensive, Kai eventually decided to answer the damn thing, since it wouldn't shut up. He quickly turned down the music to a quiet blare and pressed the 'start call' button, opening the link to the person on the other end.

"Hello?" He knew he sounded quite frosty, but he didn't care. Obviously the person on the other end didn't care either, because the next sound that reached his hearing was a jolly laugh.

"Kai, m' boy?"

Kai's eyes widened and he accidentally jerked the wheel to the left suddenly. A slight gasp left his lips and he spun the wheel to the right, bringing the car under control again. How the hell had the head of the BBA found his number? _Shit…_

"Mr. Dickinson…" He made himself sound as formal as he could, knowing full well that if Mr. D was calling, it had to be something important.

"Kai! It _is _you! It's good to hear from you. Everyone's been quite worried." Hearing the concern in the older man's voice, Kai lowered the frostiness a little. _A little. _

"I'm fine. I've kept myself away from everyone for a reason, Mr. Dickinson. Why are you calling, and how the hell did you get my number?"

A chuckle from the earpiece and Kai growled low in his throat. He wasn't in the mood to be playing games. He had things that needed to be attended to; like going to the pharmacy and getting some damn medication for his headache.

"Look, Mr. Dickinson," the teen said, exasperated. "I've got things I have to do, so make this quick.

"Okay then," was the reply Mr. D supplied. "I met up with the Bladebreakers earlier today and they know you're in town. They want to meet up with you."

"_What!?_" Kai exploded, not caring that he had most probably blown the man's eardrums. "How could you tell them that? You of all people should know why I didn't want to be around them anymore. Shit…"

"Kai, please…just listen, okay?"

Rubbing a hand over his face, Kai hit the indicator and pulled over to the side of the road. He was stressed; not getting enough sleep and the unhealthy relationship him and food were having wasn't helping at all. Now _this_ had to get thrown in on top of everything else? Great…

"Okay…" he reluctantly agreed, leaning on the steering wheel of the Buick as he talked. The wheel was cool and it somewhat soothed his head. "I'm not sorry that I took off for so long, but I can see where you're coming from. I'm not interesting in beyblading anymore, so don't bother asking about that."

_Liar!_ A voice piped up. _Oh great, now I'm hearing voices… I'm going freakin' insane._

"Will you at least agree to meet the boys while you're in town?" Mr. Dickinson asked. Kai was very tempted to say no, but… Ah crap, what was he thinking? Kai knew that if he went and saw the Bladebreakers, they would somehow rope him into beyblading again.

_But that wouldn't be a bad thing. You know you wanna blade again,_ the voice spoke up. Kai groaned. Why the fuck was this happening now? Maybe he ought to go see a shrink...

"Kai?" the worried voice of Stanley Dickinson came over the phone and Kai realised with a start, that he was still on the phone. Crap.

"What?" he snapped, not really in the mood to deal with all this at this time. He just wanted to get some medicine and go back to the hotel and have a nice, hot shower and get some much-needed sleep. "Sorry," he apologised. "Long day."

What was wrong with him? It was just after two in the afternoon and he wanted to go to sleep? Maybe he was coming down with something.

"Look, I've really gotta go. Tell Tyson that you couldn't get hold of me. That way he won't get all antsy and annoy the crap out of me 24/7. And make sure he _never_ finds this number!"

Without waiting to hear a reply, Kai hit the 'end call' button and threw the phone on the passenger seat. Oh what a great day this had turned out to be. With those wonderful thoughts in his mind, Kai pushed the accelerator and merged back into the traffic, heading towards the nearest pharmacy. Maybe he should get some stuff to help with the nightmares that plagued his sleep while he was there.

What Kai didn't notice was the red car that pulled out of the driveway behind him, following him through the weaves of streets and towards the hotel.

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A/N: Well, there's chapter two done :) Thanks to everyone for reading. Don't worry, the pace will pick up very soon. It's gonna be a long fic and what I have planned needs a bit of build-up. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

Also, about Kai's characteristics in this fic: I don't know if he seems really out of character, but you've probably noticed that he's kinda snarky and sarcastic. You can blame _Supernatural_ for that one :P Too much Dean Winchester is bad for the health LOL.

Oh, one last thing. Would you like me to reply to the reviews via the 'review reply' button or at the end of each chapter?

Thanks! Drop me a review and tell me what you thought :)

-Dancer


	3. Reunion

A/N: Sorry for the wait! I was going to have this posted a few days ago night, but I had an immunisation injection and reacted badly to it. But not only did that happen, I managed to sprain my wrist at work too, so typing was out of the question. Again, sorry! I hope you all enjoy the new chapter though :)

My god, you guys are awesome! 18 reviews for chapter 2 and 32 reviews in total! Also, thanks so much for the 21 faves and 24 alerts!

Thanks to: marishka91, mimic shalle, dark-phoenix-4eva, x-Black-Dranzer-x, Kei-chan, XSilentX-XshadowsX, Pikke Wood, OnlyNotReally, Rapunzelle, Miako6, The keeper of lone wolfs, -izza-x23-, pheonix80, FallenHope-Angel, JST the Power of three, vlissan, phoenix-falling, and black angel falling.

Anonymous review replies will be at the end of the chapters.

Soundtrack: The Brithday Massacre: _Walking With Strangers _and _Violet_

Song for this chapter: _Blue. _

Disclaimer: refer to chapter 1

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Tears Aren't Made to Fall

**DancerInTheDark101**

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And if I try to get away

_How long until I'm free?_

_And if I don't come back here_

_Will you remember me?_

_-Remember Me – The Birthday Massacre-_

Chapter 3

Kai put the car in 'park' just outside of the pharmacy, turning the ignition off and letting his forehead rest on the black steering wheel. The pain from the headache wasn't excruciating, but rather a dull ache that was starting to annoy the hell out of him. Grabbing his keys, Kai exited the car, closing the door with a rather loud creak that had him wincing.

He locked the Buick and strode over to the medium sized, off-white building, entering through a pair of large, glass doors. Just as he entered the building, Kai noticed that a few more cars had pulled into the parking area, including a sleek, red one. Immediately his senses went on high alert, but he pushed them away, not understanding why they had flared up in the first place.

Inside, shelves were stacked ceiling-high with pretty much every medicine known to man. Prescription medicines were kept behind a large, blue counter inside a glass casing with several discreet locks. Obviously the place had some problems with theft.

Kai looked around, finding the blue-lettered sign that told him where the Nurofen was kept. Shifting through the small, silver boxes, he found a packet that directly targeted headaches and grabbed two packets. They weren't exactly expensive and wouldn't do the job of prescription tablets, but he only wanted lower strength tablets, not heavy duty ones.

Ambling over to the counter, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. After a better look, Kai changed direction and headed towards a stand at the back of the shop, the two packets of Nurofen clutched tightly in his hand.

Once beside the stand, he pretended to look through the designer sunglasses. Where instead, he was keeping an eye on the occupants of the two cars that had driven into the car park after him. It was strange. A family of four got out of the station wagon and headed into the pharmacy, but Kai couldn't see any movement from the sleek, Italian red car. He could see the silhouettes of three people inside the car, but they just seemed to be sitting there. It was like they were waiting…

After a few more minutes of 'looking at sunglasses' Kai felt the need to get out of there. The urge to get out was larger than ever and he tended to listen to his instincts when it involved things like this. He placed a pair of two hundred dollar sunglasses back on the stand and strode to the counter, pulling out his credit card at the same time.

"That'll be twelve dollars and fifty two cents, thank you," the blonde cashier spoke, her voice clipped and high, like one who lives the high life and knows it. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Kai handed over the Visa and signed the slip of paper that was produced. After the cashier had checked his signature, she handed back over the card and placed the boxes into a paper bag.

Kai muttered a low 'thank you' as he left, walking briskly to his car. The red car was still stationary in the same spot and he flicked his gaze over to the vehicle as he entered his own car.

_Come on; get a grip,_ he thought sardonically. _Not everyone in the world is out to freakin' get you. Fuck…_

Taking a calming breath, the slate-haired teen started the car, smirking as the powerful V8 engine roared to life, then purred pleasantly as Kai urged the beast of a car out of the car park at a slow pace.

Once out of the car park, Kai pressed his foot down on the accelerator, feeling the car jerk in response and roared down the road. It was only a five-minute drive back to the hotel and Kai didn't think he had felt so relieved to see a damn hotel in his entire life.

Reaching his room, Kai swiped the card through the slot and was rewarded with a slight clicking sound, as the door was unlocked. Pushing the mahogany door open, he strode into the room and immediately stopped as the scorching temperature of the apartment-style room washed over him.

"Crap," Kai muttered, dropping his wallet, keys, medication and swipe-card onto the coffee table. "I should've opened some windows before I left. It's gonna take forever to get the place to cool down now." The duel-haired teen eyed the air conditioning unit situated on the far wall, cursing the fact that he had told management that it was no problem that it was broken. Eugh.

Walking over to the large French doors that lead out onto a private balcony, Kai opened them up and let a cool breeze waft in, closing his eyes as his headache quietened down a little. The teenager leaned against the railing, his hands gripping the silver metal tightly as he gazed upon the bustling city below him.

Further out in the distance, the heart of the city was alive with people. Kai could make out tiny dots of humans as they walked among each other and freakishly tall skyscrapers. Glancing down, Kai jerked back in surprise as he saw the same red car that he was pretty sure followed him to the pharmacy, pull up into the hotel's visitor's car park.

"Fuck…someone _is_ following me. Shit!" he growled, pushing off the railing and storming back into the living room. He quickly vacated that room as he picked up one of the silver boxes of pills and headed into the kitchen where he filled up a cup of water and tossed two of the pills to the back of his throat.

Swallowing, he felt the pills slide down his throat. Now he just had to wait for the damn things to take effect and maybe when they started working, he would be able to think properly with a clear head. How the hell had he lapsed so much, that he was allowing people to _follow _him!?

Sighing, Kai looked towards the bathroom, wondering if he should have a shower or not. Deciding to have one later, the crimson-eyed teen grabbed a box that was situated under the coffee table and proceeded to pull out select items.

In a matter of minutes, the table was covered in sheets of paper, folders and other official-looking documents. Thankfully, the headache had started to disperse, so thinking wasn't as hard as it might have been. He leafed through a couple of pieces of paper, crimson eyes glancing through the large amounts of text, taking in the complicated wording.

The Russian teen placed the documents into one pile and ambled out into the kitchen area and after opening the smallish fridge, pulled out a bottle of Export Gold beer. Yeah, he knew he was underage, especially in America where the legal age was twenty-one. But for once, he didn't care. It was a stifling hot day, he was stressed, overworked and now the Bladebreakers wanted to meet up with him. Crap.

Popping the cap, Kai lifted the bottle to his lips and gulped a large mouthful of the beer down. He sighed in appreciated as the imported New Zealand beer slid down his throat. Sure, the beer wasn't high in alcoholic quantity, but he didn't want to get totally smashed.

Looking into the fridge, Kai noticed that there were quite a few different types of beer sitting on the top shelf. He could see Heineken, Export Gold, Victoria Bitter and one he'd never heard of before: Mac's Gold. Smirking, he told himself that before he left America he would have tried all of them.

He took the beer back into the living room and before sitting back down again to continue with his work, he glanced back out the French doors and spotted the red car still idling in the car park. A frown settled on his features and he wondered if he should go out there and give the fuckers something to worry about.

In the end, Kai decided to leave it be. He really didn't have the time for it. There were several proposal drafts that needed to be sent out within the next few days and he was severely behind.

Knuckling down in his work, Kai didn't notice how fast time flew by until it got too dark to see properly. He looked outside and to his shock, noticed that the sun was fast going down.

"Shit," he muttered, clambering to his feet and switching on the light. Gold bathed the room as the flick was switched, bouncing off the white documents and hitting him painfully in the eye. Letting out a string of curses, the Russian strode over to the French doors and pulled them shut, locking them. Grabbing the curtains, Kai began to pull them closed when he noticed movement from the car park.

A scowl settling on his features, Kai let the curtains hang slightly open. He peered out the gap in the material, watching patiently as several figures got out of the red car and hurried over to the cover of the building, disappearing from sight. Muttering a quiet 'crap', the retired beyblader quickly closed the curtains fully and hastily made his way over to the door, flicking the knob and locking it.

He then stood in the kitchen and grabbed another beer out of the fridge and waited. If those people were actually here because of him, then he would know in a few minutes. Only then, would he relax.

It was ten long minutes before the knocking on the door started. Kai did nothing; just stood where he was, drink in hand. After a while the knocking stopped and he heard someone grab the door handle and start yanking it up and down, in hopes of it being unlocked.

"Hey, stop that!" a muffled voice shouted from the other side of the door. Confusion settled in as Kai stared incredulously at the shut door. If you were trying to sneak into someone's hotel room, wouldn't you try and be as quiet as possible? Just who the hell were these people?

"Shhh!" another voice hissed just as loudly. "We don't want him to know that we're here. If he knows that, then we'll never get in!" Kai couldn't believe it. What kind of idiots were they?

"For fucks sake, Tyson! Shut up!"

Crap.

Kai groaned as he finally figured out who had been tailing him the entire day: Tyson Granger and his lackeys. How in the world had they managed to tail him in the first place? Tyson wasn't the smartest pea in a pod and he couldn't see Ray wanting to do so. And Max? That kid was too high on sugar most of the time to do anything really productive.

Rubbing a hand over his face, he slumped into one of the chairs around the small table in the kitchen. He placed the beer on the table and leant forward, resting his head in his hands as voices continued to float through the door.

It was then, in a quick minute of silence that Kai realised who the mastermind was behind the whole thing. How could he have not have known earlier? The biggest clue was when someone had told Tyson to shut up…

_Tala…_

Shit. So that's how the morons managed to pull off whatever they were trying to pull off. Tala, the ever-wanting-to-piss-Kai-off person, had decided to help the Bladebreakers in tracking him down. Great, just freakin' wonderful. Now he was going to have to deal with the brats for god knows how long. And he had just managed to get rid of that damn headache too…

He decided to wait a few more minutes before opening the door. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as muffle curses and some strange clicking noises came from the other side of the door. They were trying to pick the fucking lock!

Even though the door was mostly opened with a swipe-card activation, there was also a standard key-in-the-lock system, just in case you forgot or lost the swipe card. Now, Tala, being the impatient little bugger that he was, was picking the damn lock.

Letting out a low groan, Kai stood up and strode over to the door. In one motion, he unlocked the door and pulled it forcefully open, only to be knocked backwards as many teenagers fell inside the doorway, limbs and curses being thrown every which way.

Slamming backwards into the carpet, Kai grunted as his head hit the floor quite hard. He screwed his eyes shut as a blinding pain raced through his head, before dying down. Shit. Now the headache was _bound_ to come back.

"Oh, shit. Kai? Kai, are you alright? Kai, c'mon, say something? Kai!" Tyson's worried voice invaded this thoughts and Kai groaned. Shit, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

Pale eyelids cracked open to reveal a pair of crimson orbs and Kai stared at the gathering of people standing above him. He could see Tyson, Max, Ray, Tala and Bryan. Wonderful…this was turning out to be the _best day ever_. Eugh.

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Tala stared in shock from his position half-kneeling on the floor, working at the lock. He watched as the door was opened and Tyson fell through the opening, slamming into an unprepared Kai, throwing them both to the floor. The redhead heard a thump as the other Russian's head hit the floor.

Getting up quickly, Tala stepped over the tangled bodies of Ray, Max and Bryan and entered the hotel room. Seeing that Tyson was trying to get up amidst the tangle of body parts, he grudgingly put out his hand and helped the world champ to his feet. It was then that Tala got his first good look of Kai Hiwatari in almost three years.

Even with Kai lying down, Tala knew that he was tall. The Russian teen was probably around 6ft 1, give or take an inch. He was thin too. He had lost a lot of weight around his face, making his cheekbones more pronounced, which did nothing to decrease his looks. Kai had always been skinny, but Tala found that he seemed a little too thin for his liking.

Slate bangs framed a pale face, his hair darkening into a dark blue/black towards the back. Tala had always been amazed with Kai's dual-coloured hair, convinced that it had been a dye job. After nagging Kai about it for years on end, Tala had found out that it was actually natural. Apparently the enigma had never touched a packet of hair dye, let alone use it.

Dark lashes brushed against the top of his cheekbones and when Kai opened his eyes, the redhead knew he would find himself staring into twin pools of crimson. Those eyes had freaked him out when he had first met Kai. He had been told since very young that red eyes were the sign of the devil and for weeks after meeting Kai, he had claimed that he was the devil out to get everyone. Luckily for him, he was wrong.

Tala could also see that Kai had changed his fashion sense in the two and a half years since his disappearance. Long gone were the baggy blue pants and surprisingly enough, the scarf was also missing.

Instead, the teen was dressed in a pair of baggy, casual but classy, black jeans. A fitted black t-shirt with a stylised skull and flame design on the bottom right side stretched taught across his chest and stomach, showing off his very ripped stomach muscles. A silver phoenix pendant hung from a chain on his neck, resting against the bottom of his collarbone.

Seeing the flash of something silver near Kai's hair, Tala peered closer to see that he had two, small, silver studs piercing his left ear. Tala let a smirk decorate his features at the jewellery. Kai had always said that he was going to get his ear pierced. Thinking about something else the boy had said when younger, Tala glanced at Kai's right arm. He let out a quiet laugh when he saw the edges of black ink that trailed up under the sleeve of his shirt. _So he did get the tattoo in the end. _

"Oh, shit. Kai? Kai, are you alright? Kai, c'mon, say something? Kai!" Tala turned to see Tyson standing, his dark blue eyes wide with fright at the sight of his unmoving ex-captain.

A groan left Kai's lips as he stirred and seconds later Tala found himself staring into his friend's deep crimson eyes. Only, one eye wasn't crimson anymore. The redhead felt his mouth drop open at the different eye colours, immediately wondering what the hell had happened. He felt someone's arm brush his back and turned to see Bryan, Ray and Max standing beside him, worried expressions marring their features. Surprisingly, Bryan also looked slightly worried at the sight of Kai on the ground.

Ten minutes and several heated arguments later, the teenagers were sitting around the small kitchen table. Kai held a bag of ice to his head where swelling had begun to show around the small gash in the skin. Tala could feel the anger radiating off his friend and he didn't blame him for being angry. It hadn't exactly been the best entrance they could have made.

"Are you okay, Kai?" Tyson asked for the one-thousandth time. Tala fleetingly glanced at Kai, waiting for the reply.

"Yes!" Kai growled, lowering the makeshift icepack from the gash to glare at the boy. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much. Now, shut up before I make you shut up!"

Biting back a laugh, Tala slapped a hand over his mouth. On the surface, it seemed like Kai hadn't changed at all. It was good to see him again. Truth be told, Tala had missed him quite a bit. He knew that the Bladebreakers had too. All of them wanted Kai to come back to Japan with them, but Tala wasn't so sure if Kai would warm to the idea at all. He had seen the coffee table stacked with official documents and other papers. Kai was deeply involved in the running of Hiwatari Enterprises and BIOVOLT. He wouldn't abandon his duties easily and Tala wasn't sure if he wanted him to. Kai seemed to be changing the two former-manipulative companies and turning them into something good. And if that meant giving up beyblading for good, then Tala wasn't too worried.

He just hoped that Kai wouldn't kill Tyson in the next five minutes. Sharing a look with Bryan as Kai sent daggers of fury Tyson's way, Tala let a smirk possess his lips. Oh, this was gonna be fun.

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A/N: Another chapter completed! Once again, I'm so sorry for the wait. There will be a slight time jump next chapter, and then the story will pick up. The big reunion is next and the rest of the bladers will be introduced to the story! Thanks again for reading. Hope you all enjoyed it. Leave a review if you feel like it :)

Thanks again!

-DancerInTheDark101-

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Anonymous review replies:

Kei-chan: Thanks so much for the review! The info I used for the background of Kai was pretty much completely made up. I found the birth date on Wikipedia and decided to use it. There are many different theories as to what Kai's birthday is, but for this story I'm gonna stick with August 2nd. Thanks for telling me though! I checked out the website as well. My god, its amazing!


	4. Questions

A/N: Hey all. Sorry for the wait for this chapter. Two friends passed away last week and I've been preoccupied with their funerals and the such. Thanks so much for all your support so far. I really hope you like the new chapter.

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed. They really mean a lot to me. This fic now has 51 reviews, 24 faves and 31 alerts. You guys rock!

A special thanks goes to: mimic shalle, The keeper of lone wolfs, Kiki Ling, Miako6, Pikke Wood, phoenix-falling, Rapunzelle, x-Black-Dranzer-x, The Swordsman, FallenHope-Angel, PermafrostDuchess, pheonix80, Destiny Kitty, Elves of the Moon, vlissan, OnlyNotReally, black angel falling, marishka91 and AzikaRue394 (chapter 1).

Disclaimer: refer to chapter 1

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Tears Aren't Made to Fall

**DancerInTheDark101**

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Chapter 4

_Earlier that day_

"Tala!" a whining voice boomed through the complex, causing many people nearby to wince and cover their ears as a teenage boys came racing around the corner dressed in a pair of blue swimming shorts, a white towel wrapped around his shoulders. Just as the boy was running along side one of the many swimming pools, Tala watched with morbid fascination as Tyson slipped on the water coating the floor.

The navy-haired teen fell, a shout slipping through his lips as his back slammed into the tiled flooring. Ice blue eyes widened in amusement as Tyson then tumbled over the edge of the pool and into the water, creating a splash that sloshed over the sides and wetting the feet of the people nearby.

Letting out a short laugh, Tala slapped a hand against his mouth and looked on as the world champ struggled to untangle himself from the towel. The redhead stepped forward, careful not to slip, and stared into the churning water where Tyson was now floating, his face twisted into an annoyed scowl.

"Tyson!" a female voice scolded as Tala felt someone stand beside him. He looked to his left and saw the Bladebreakers fan girl and partial cheerleader standing beside him, hands on her hips and glaring at the soaking wet boy. "Haven't I told you not to run around swimming pools? I told you that this would happen, and guess what? It did!" The last two words were loud and Tala winced as he backed away, the shrill words making his ears ring slightly.

The leader of the Blitzkrieg Boys heard a snigger from behind him and turned to see the rest of his team standing together in their normal style of clothes, launchers and beyblades firmly in their hands. Shit, he was supposed to be meeting up with them in one of the many training rooms. And then Tyson had interrupted everything… again.

"Don't even start," Tala growled at Spencer, Bryan and Ian. The three Russians nodded, the smirks not leaving their faces. Rolling his eyes, Tala turned back to see Tyson getting out of the pool. The world champ was spluttering, coughing out mouthfuls of water. Droplets of the liquid flew in every direction as Tyson shook his head. Tala grimaced and stepped back as the water was flung onto his clothes.

"Thanks, Granger," he said sarcastically as Tyson flopped onto the tiled floor, breathing hard and soaking wet. "Now, what was it that you desperately wanted to say? I've got things to do and I don't have time for your stupid antics." The words were harsh and clipped, but Tala couldn't find the energy to care.

"Hey!" Tyson yelled indignantly, eyes closing slightly in what Tala presumed was a glare. It didn't really work in the boy's favour as Tala heard laughter from behind him. Smirking, the redhead stared down at the teen, who was pushing himself to his feet.

"I…" There was a slight pause and Tala narrowed his eyes. He really didn't have time for this. "I need your help…" Tyson continued. Tala felt his mouth drop open a little at the statement. Tyson needed _his _help? Why the hell would the world champ even be _contemplating_ asking for help? And for what?

He frowned at the blade before him, speaking as he did so. "What? Why do you need help from me, Granger? This had better be damn good…or else."

Tyson visibly paled and swallowed nervously. "I…ahh…" he stumbled over the words, desperately trying to find the right ones. In the end five words spurted out of the Japanese boy's mouth. Those five words were enough to make Tala halt in his thoughts and actions, staring at Tyson in shock.

"I know where Kai is!"

Silence followed the statement. Tala stared at Tyson in shock. How in the world did the immature world champion find out where Kai was? Tala had been searching for the missing teen for the past couple of years and hadn't found a damn thing. Yet here was Tyson, telling him that he knew where Kai was.

He threw a glare Tyson's way and earned a flinch in response, replying to the statement angrily. "You better not be joking me around, Granger…" The words came out in a growl, just as Tala had planned. Tyson paled even further and the redhead could see him shaking a little. Good…

"I…I'm not kidding, Tala. Mr. Dickinson finally found out where Kai was and he told me!" The indignant reply was full of happiness that Tala _knew_ Tyson wasn't lying. No matter how annoying the Japanese teen was, the boy had a genuine friendship with Kai – even though it was rather one-sided.

"Well?" Tala demanded, eyes narrowing as he drawled the word. "Where is he?"

"Oh!" Tyson's deep blue eyes widened, his mouth forming an 'O' that contorted his face into an amusing expression. "Ah, well…let me see…" He strode over to where his belongings were stored away in a navy backpack and pulled out a folded, crisp piece of paper.

Tala held out his hand, motioning for him to hand the piece of paper over. Tyson did so and he glanced at the precise writing scrawled across the paper. Seeing the word _'America' _written on the page shook Tala slightly. Kai was in America? And he was currently in the same damn city?

"He's _here_?" The Russian captain exclaimed, waving the information in Tyson's face. "Kai's in this fucking city, _right now_!?"

"Yeah…" was the slow, drawn-out response from Tyson. Looking up from the white paper, Tala frowned as he remembered that Tyson had been asking for his help.

"Granger? Why were you asking for my help? It appears that you already know where Kai is."

A sheepish smile appeared on Tyson's face, his hand going up to scratch his head. It was at that point that Ray and Max decided to show up. At first they looked confused, but a knowing look crossed their features after taking in the scene.

"You see…" Tyson began, his hand moving from his head to scratch the back of his neck. "Mr. Dickinson told me that Kai was in this city, but he didn't tell me where he was _exactly_. We have no idea where he's staying and was wondering if you could help me find him?"

The statement was met with silence once again. Tala gaped at the teen before him, wondering what on earth had possessed the poor kid to ask _him_ to help them.

"Why should _I_ help _you_?" he questioned, waiting patiently for Tyson's reply as he stood there, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "What do I gain from helping_ you_, Granger?"

Seeing Tyson's fists clench, Tala knew that he was gonna erupt pretty soon. Even as he was asking the kid the questions, he had already made up his mind. For years he had wanted to see his old friend again. He and the other Blitzkrieg Boys had tried and tried to find where the slate-haired teen was, but to no avail. Their searches turned up nothing. But that was something Tala had been expecting. When Kai wanted to disappear, he disappeared.

So with the news that someone had found out that Kai was actually in the same city as them, Tala found that even though he really didn't want to associate with Tyson much at all, he couldn't pass up the chance to finally track down Kai.

"Why…why you…bastard!" Screamed Tyson, his fists shaking in anger. Tala flicked his gaze towards the boy, schooling his expression into that of indifference. "You finally get the chance to find Kai and you're asking what you'll _gain_ from it!? You haven't changed one bit, Tala! You're still the cold-hearted jerk you always were and always will be!"

Whatever he had expected to come out of Tyson's mouth, that wasn't it. Standing frozen in mild shock, Tala watched as the angered blader turned and started to storm off in the opposite direction, towards the changing rooms.

"Granger!" Tala called out just as Tyson was about to disappear around the corner. The world champ stopped and turned slowly, his face twisted into anger. "I'll help…"

Besides, it would be fun to see what Kai's reaction would be. The Russian enigma would most probably be pissed beyond words, but that was what Tala lived for. Pissing off Kai was a favourite past time of his.

With those two words, Tyson's demeanour changed in an instant; the change so rapid that Tala had to blink a few times to make sure he hadn't dreamed it all up. Tyson 'whooped' and jumped into the air, pumping his fist above his head as he did so. The next instant, Tala felt two arms wrap around his midsection and it took him a while to figure out that _Tyson was hugging him…_

"Get off!" he demanded, prying the boy away from him. "I agreed to help, not to be damn well hugged!" Tyson leant back then, and Tala growled low in his throat, making it damn apparent that he wanted the teen to let go. However, the oblivious teen just hugged him again. Clenching a fist, Tala readied himself to deck Tyson. He _didn't_ like to be hugged in any way, shape or form and now his clothes were all wet.

"Granger…" the word murderously slipped from his lips, eliciting a scared squeak from the other boy.

_Present time_

Kai listened with a smirk as Tala finished the tale of how Tyson managed to rope two of the Blitzkrieg Boys into searching for him. It was a rather entertaining story, but he was still annoyed. He had tried so hard to stay away from everyone involved in the beyblading life, but they still found him.

Lifting the icepack away from his head, Kai probed the wound with a couple of fingers, wincing ever-so-slightly as a small burn raced through his head. He felt a small trickle of blood seep from the cut, groaning as he remembered that head wounds always bled a lot. Wonderful…

"Hey, Kai?" a quiet-ish voice piped up. Kai looked over to where Max and Ray were sitting. He nodded in response to the question, motioning for Max to continue. "Why'd you leave for so long?"

The bluenette sighed, knowing that someone was bound to ask that question at some point. He was quite surprised that it hadn't been asked before now. Pondering over what to say, Kai took the time to look over the people he hadn't seen in over two years.

Tyson seemed to be somewhat more mature than the last time he had seen him. He was still as loud and obnoxious as ever, plus his ego was as huge as Russia after his last championship win. The Japanese teen was dressed in a pair of baggy blue pants, a black, lightly fitted shirt hanging loose over the top of his pants. He was wearing no jacket, which was wise considering the heat at the moment. Tyson seemed to have lost some weight too. His face didn't carry all the baby-fat from years ago, his cheekbones more pronounced. He still had a deep tan, but Kai reckoned it was just from his Japanese heritage more than anything. A black wrist band circled his left wrist and Kai could see a beyblade holder attached to a brown leather belt wrapped through the belt loops on his pants. All in all, he didn't seemed to have changed much.

Max still came across as a small kid in a bigger kid's body. He was all smiles; seemingly non-stop grinning at anyone and anything. Kai found that it was a nice chance from the depressing, slightly Emo looks that he dealt with from day to day. At this present time, Max was dressed in a pair of blue jean shorts that reached just below his knees. A baggy lime jean shirt completed the ensemble, somehow not managing to clash with the faded red shoes covering his feet. So the blonde kid still liked his bright colours…

Ray was the one who seemed the most grown-up out of all the Bladebreakers present. His hair was long, although it wasn't nearly as long as it had once been. He still wore a white bandana with a ying/yang symbol stitched into the front of it, which held back the black bangs that would otherwise fall into his eyes. The Chinese teen was wearing a black fitted t-shirt with a Chinese character on the back in red, which was tucked into a pair of dark blue jeans, held up by a black belt. A few black leather bracelets encircled his right wrist and Kai felt his eyes widen when he noticed the simple silver ring settled on Ray's wedding finger. He was engaged? Making a note to ask Ray about the ring later, Kai turned his attention to the two people left – Bryan and Tala.

Bryan's looked pretty much exactly the same as the last time he had seen him. His lilac hair was long-ish, reaching his shoulders, but the bangs were kept away from his face. The wielder of Falborg was dressed entirely in black; a black muscle top with black jeans. A black studded belt wrapped around his hips and a silver chain hung from the side into his pocket. A necklace hung from his neck and Kai recognised the pendant – a silver replica of a falcon. A single black skull stud pierced Bryan's right ear and apart from a couple of silver rings, that was all the jewellery he was wearing.

Tala. Kai had noticed immediately that Tala had changed. The first thing was that he no longer dressed in those hideous jumpsuits that Boris and his grandfather had made the redhead wear. Personally, the things had kinda creeped him out a little. Tala's fiery red hair was still styled in the 'devil horns' and Kai figured that the Russian would never change it. Like with Bryan, Tala wore a single necklace around his neck. Although his pendant was a replica of a wolf. He was dressed in a pair of baggy dark blue jeans and a red shirt. A black jacket that looked suspiciously like leather covered his arms and any tattoos and jewellery the teen might have had. Also like Bryan, Tala wore a black studded belt with a chain disappearing into a pocket.

"Ah, Kai?" Max's voice snapped him out of his observations. Noticing that they were all staring at him, Kai cleared his throat and tried to remember what the blonde's question had been. Oh yeah, why he had left…

Shit.

"Yeah, sorry," he quickly apologised. What the hell was he supposed to tell them? _The truth would probably be the best bet. They didn't say anything about what happened during my time away, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell them why. _

"With Voltaire and Boris both rotting in prison, Hiwatari Enterprises and BIOVOLT needed a new CEO and apparently I was first in line for the job. I couldn't continue with blading and run both companies, so I gave up beyblade." After he had finished the explanation, Kai realised that he hadn't mentioned anything about being away for so long without any contact. He thought about carrying on, but decided to wait and see if anyone noticed the evasion of the question. Unfortunately, Ray was the first to speak up about it.

"But Kai," he started, gold eyes boring into his own. "Why did you stay away for so long without contacting us? I mean, we didn't even know that BIOVOLT and Hiwatari Enterprises needed a new CEO. Mr. Dickinson had thought that Voltaire and Boris had someone picked out for the job and you definitely weren't a passing thought for it."

Letting out a low snort, Kai rolled his eyes. "In my grandfather's trust, he stated that if anything was to happen to him, I was to take over the family company under the guidance of Boris. However, Boris also happened to be in prison, so I just did it without him. Only the most trusted of staff know that I'm in charge as I set up a trusted family friend to act as CEO until I'm of age. And as for not contacting you all, how do you think the media would react to a sixteen-year-old running two of the most influential companies in the world? They would have a field day. It was better off this way."

Kai stood up as soon as he was finished speaking and walked over to the fridge and opened up the freezer, placing the partially melted icepack into the roll-out draw. After placing two fingertips against the cut on his head and finding no blood on his fingers, the Russian CEO strode into the bathroom and proceeded to get first aid supplies ready to patch up the wound.

Feeling someone behind him, Kai turned to see Bryan and Tala standing in the doorway, mixed expressions marring their pale faces. Yelling out to Tyson, Ray and Max to behave themselves, Kai let the other Russians into the bathroom before closing the door.

It was good to see them after so long, Kai realised as he stared into the mirror, grimacing at the horrible sight of his different coloured eyes. He grabbed a piece of medical tape and a patch of gauze. Soaking the gauze in antiseptic, he placed the white material against the cut, wincing as the antiseptic did its job. He then ripped off a couple of pieces of tape and pressed the strips against the gauze, holding it in place.

"Kai…" Tala began. Kai held up a hand to stop him.

"Once the brat, Ray and Max leave, then I'll tell you more, okay?"

Tala opened his mouth to say something, but before a sound could come out, a large crash sent vibrations racing through the hotel apartment. Groaning, Kai pushed thoughts and images of intricate ways to murder Tyson out of his head and opened the door to see said teen lying in the middle of the floor. Beside him lay the broken remains of the wooden coffee table, white pieces of paper scattered everywhere in a disorderly mess.

"Tyson!"

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A/N: Well there's chapter four done! I hope it didn't seem too rushed. I haven't really been in the right state of mind to write, but I really wanted to update. It kinda kept my mind off things too. I hope you all liked the chapter. I think I replied to everyone who reviewed last chapter. If not, I'm really sorry! Please accept my apologies.

Also, I know I said that there would be a time skip and more character meeting this chapter, but it didn't quite work that way lol. It should be next chapter :)

Leave a review if you feel like it!

Thanks again for taking the time to read.

-DancerInTheDark101-


	5. Answers

A/N: I'm extremely sorry for the long wait for this chapter. Real Life has been a complete bitch and I had to re-read what I had written so far to get back into the plot. But in consolation, there is the long-awaited talk between Tala, Bryan and Kai!

Thanks for all the support you've given this story (and me). It means a lot and I hope you all enjoy the new chapter. THANK YOU.

Also, half of this chapter was written months ago, so I'm sorry if it seems weird part way through, because I kinda left it in a weird place – like halfway through a sentence…

Warning: I suppose I should put this in. This fic contains a fair bit of swearing, mainly from our favourite Russians :P

Disclaimer: refer to chapter 1

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Tears Aren't Made to Fall

**DancerInTheDark101**

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**Chapter 5**

_Tala opened his mouth to say something, but before a sound could come out, a large crash sent vibrations racing through the hotel apartment. Groaning, Kai pushed thoughts and images of intricate ways to murder Tyson out of his head and opened the door to see said teen lying in the middle of the floor. Beside him lay the broken remains of the wooden coffee table, white pieces of paper scattered everywhere in a disorderly mess. _

"_Tyson!"_

Kai couldn't believe it. He had left the boy alone for _five freakin' minutes_ and he managed to break something already! A groan slipped out from his lips and he placed a hand on his forehead, trying desperately to calm himself and not murder the annoying brat.

When there was no response from the dazed Japanese teen on the floor, Kai strode over and plucked him from the middle of the wrecked table. "Are you hurt?" Yeah, sure, he wasn't a big fan of Tyson Granger, but that didn't mean he wanted the kid to get seriously hurt or anything. A smirk adorned his features. The yelling and beating would come after…

"Uh, no." There was a slight pause as Tyson obviously tried to process what had happened. "_I'm sorry!_" he exclaimed, getting onto his knees and brining his hands together as if he was praying. "Please don't hurt me! I'm begging you, Kai! Please…have mercy on my poor soul!"

Kai couldn't help it. His mouth dropped open in horror. Tyson was on his _knees_ on his _floor_, _begging_ not to be _hurt_. Was he fucking insane? _Of course_ he was gonna get hurt! The little fucker had destroyed a rather expensive coffee table!

"_Tyson…" _the single word was menacing and full of promises of extreme pain and when Tyson's eyes widened and he skittered backwards, Kai heard a snicker from behind him – mainly the bathroom doorway.

Looking behind him quickly, Kai saw Tala and Bryan trying their hardest not to laugh at the outright fear plastered across the younger teenager's face. Kai had to admit it _was_ kinda funny. Tyson's face was completely void of colour, his dark blue eyes bulging slightly and his mouth was opening and closing, desperately trying to find something to say.

The Russian teen was about to 'tell' Tyson how he felt, when the headache came back. It wasn't like any of the other headaches he got from lack of sleep, or heat related. This one came on fast and hard and it _hurt_. Thinking back to when his head slammed into the flooring earlier, Kai realised that he was lucky it had held off until now.

Biting his lower lip, Kai closed his eyes quickly, trying to hide the wince as his head started to pound. The headache was situated right behind his eyes and he knew that he had to do something about it before it got any worse.

He blinked as his vision blurred a little – something that happened quite often with his headaches, and saw the others staring at him. Tyson wasn't looking scared anymore, but more concerned. Shit. That was the last thing he wanted. This was another reason he hadn't wanted them to find him.

"Kai? Are you okay?" It was Ray voicing the concern this time. He looked over to the Chinese blader and almost growled at the pleading look of concern on his tanned features. God, why couldn't they just leave him the fuck alone?

"I'm fine," he grit out between clenched teeth. He took a deep breath before coming to a decision. They _had _to leave. He couldn't deal with this with the Bladebreakers there. There was just one problem with that. Kai knew that it would be bloody World War III before they left willingly. Shit.

"Look," he stated, glancing at the Bladebreakers. "You're going to have to leave-"

He was cut off immediately as cries of protest filled the air. Taking another deep breath, he tried to calm himself a little, before he exploded in front of them, which would not do his head any favours.

"Listen!" They all shut up, and Kai swore he heard someone's jaw close with a click. A quiet snigger came from behind him and he turned to glare at the guilty Russians. He sent them a look, stating that he would deal with them later. Both Tala and Bryan nodded, gulping slightly. Facing the Bladebreakers again, Kai told them the compromise he was willing to make.

"You leave now, and I promise that I'll call you and set a day that we can meet up…" Even as he said it, Kai regretted the choice. He should probably just get it over and done with now, but he didn't think he could handle it. This was the only way.

"Really? Seriously? Yes!" Tyson's yells interrupted his thoughts and the Russian enigma groaned. Great, the brat was going to be worse the next time, wasn't he? _Fuck…_ And then Tyson pulled out a cell phone, flipping it open and obviously going into his contact books. Oh god, the world was going to end. There was _no freakin' way_ he was giving Tyson his cell phone number.

"Tyson…"

"Yeah?" the teen piped up, looking up from the silver contraption.

"There is no way in hell I am giving you my cell phone number, so just _forget it_. I'll get in contact with Mr. Dickinson," he groaned at that. Another person he didn't want to see, "and we'll sort out a meeting that way."

There was an easier way through all of this, but that meant actually getting in contact with one of the Bladebreakers himself. And if he called or even text one of them, his number would show up and that would completely void the whole problem he was trying to avoid.

Fuck, why did his life have to be so goddamn complicated?

He saw Tyson's face drop slightly, wounded by the statement. Kai sighed at the action and sighed, running a hand through his hair. He really didn't want to have to sit down and explain to Tyson exactly why he was doing this.

Five minutes later, Tyson, Ray and Max were leaving. Tyson had kicked up quite a stink at the fact that Tala and Bryan were allowed to stay. At that, Kai had calmly told him that Tala and Bryan didn't make him want to seriously maim them.

As the door clicked shut, the enigma groaned and slumped into one of the chairs in the living room, staring at the mess coating the floor that was once a coffee table. He closed his eyes as the headache mercilessly continued to pound. He knew he had to take the medication prescribed, but he just couldn't find the strength to do so. The encounter with the Bladebreakers had really worn him out.

It was getting late in the afternoon and soon he would have to get some food ready for tea. He didn't really feel like cooking, but after almost a week of instant meals, he was kind of over them.

Motioning to Tala and Bryan to take a seat, the slate-haired teen ambled into the kitchen and grabbed the white pill bottle sitting on the edge of the counter. Flipping the cap open, he palmed two of the tablets and after putting the bottle back on the white surface, went to the kitchen and filled a glass with water.

He was really tempted to have a beer, but he wasn't as stupid as to take prescribed medication with alcohol, no matter the low quantity of alcohol it had.

With the pills sliding down his throat, Kai hoped that they would work fast. He hated it when he got headaches like this one. They left him pretty much useless to do anything but sleep or sit quietly doing absolutely nothing.

"Kai."

He looked into the living room where the two Russian's were seated. He knew that they would demand answers and it wasn't something he was looking forward to talking about. It would most definitely be an experience he would want to forget in a hurry. Not because he didn't like the two Russians, but because he valued their opinions and even classed them as friends.

Clearing his throat, Kai coughed, wincing as it ended up sounding more like a rough bark than anything else. He made his way into the living room and sat down opposite the bladers, avoiding their steely gazes for the time being.

A few minutes passed in complete silence as they sat there, the sun shining brightly through the windows. He could feel the heat from the sun beating down on his body, and coupled with the headache, it made it rather uncomfortable.

In the middle of the room, pieces of wood and paper were scattered around. Some of the wood shards were rather sharp, and Kai was thankful that Tyson hadn't been seriously hurt when he had started fooling around, which had ended up in the world champ breaking the table.

"Kai, we need to talk." Frowning a little, Kai wondered why Tala was doing all the talking. Bryan just seemed to be on the back burner, sitting quietly, watching and listening, but never participating. It was strange.

"Yeah I know. I said that I would talk after the brats left." His voice was rough and the slate-haired teen winced inwardly. Great, maybe he was getting sick. That would be absolutely freakin' wonderful…

"Okay then. The brats are gone," the redhead stated, eyes narrowing. "So stop fucking around and start talking already!" Kai held back a flinch at the anger and frustration lacing his friend's words. Why was Tala so angry?

"Look Kai," Tala started to explain. "Just try to see this from our point of view, okay? You disappeared off the face of the earth, Kai. No one knew where you were or if you were even alive. And now, suddenly, we find out that you're okay and residing in the same damn city we are, and you didn't even bother to contact us! Fuck it Kai, even _one single phone call_ would have been sufficient! Even if you had just left a damn message on the answering machine! Anything would have been better than not knowing! Two years, Kai. _Two fucking, long years._"

There was an uncomfortable silence between the teenagers at the statement. The slate-haired teen sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He was really going to have to talk, as he was damn sure that Tala and Bryan weren't going to let him just get out of it easily.

To be completely honest with himself, Kai could agree and say that he was a complete bastard to the two people sitting across from him. He had just up and left suddenly, with no clue as to where he had gone to, or if he was still alive. It couldn't have been easy on them.

But he wasn't going to tell them everything. There were things that he had to keep to himself – for his sake and for their safety.

Sighing, Kai rubbed a hand over his eyes before leaning back in his chair and looked at the two bladers sitting across from him. "Alright, what do you want to know?" he asked, begrudgingly. It wasn't normal for him to give in so easily, but he could see where Tala was coming from when he explained his outburst.

"What happened to your eye?"

Crap. Clipped, monotone and straight to the point. Tala was _pissed_.

"Car accident."

"When?"

"A year and half ago."

"Why?"

"Car slid out of control."

"Whose car?"

"The other driver."

"Anyone dead?"

"No."

"What's wrong with your eye?"

Kai groaned inwardly. It looked like they were playing twenty questions… it was going to be _so much fun. Not._

"I'm mostly blind in that eye. The colour change is a result of the pigments doing some fucked-up shit."

"Will it ever get better?"

"No."

There was another burst of silence, which Kai knew wouldn't last very long at all. Tala was very persistent when it came to finding out things and it would only be a matter of time before he knew everything. Well, everything that Kai was willing to divulge.

"Where have you been these past few years?"

Uh oh. The slate-haired teen knew that the next answer he gave was going to seriously piss the two Russian's off.

"… Russia."

"_What the fuck!?_ Where?"

"In my parent's old house."

"What old house? I didn't know that they even had a house left in Russia."

Kai chose not to retaliate to that statement, knowing full well what would come from it. _Crap. I knew I shouldn't have mentioned the old house… fuck. _Looking at Tala, Kai shot him a glare and the redhead sighed. The topic was dropped.

"Why did you retire?"

_Shit._

"No comment…"

"Kai…" Tala said in a menacing tone. Not bothered by the tone, Kai continued to stay silent. His reasoning for quitting beyblading was not something he wanted to share at this point in time.

"_No comment_," he stressed again, hoping that the message would get through to him.

"Will you ever come out of retirement?"

That was one question Kai had been asking himself lately and after much debate, he was pretty sure of the answer, and it wasn't one that was going to please Tala.

"No."

The glares coming from both Tala and Bryan didn't deter him in the least. He was sticking by his word. Personally, even though (before he had retired) he was known as one of the best beybladers in the world, he didn't think the sport was for him anymore. Kai was well immersed in the corporate world now; running two companies in the shadows was hard work and he wouldn't have enough time to train if he went back to the sport.

"Why not?"

Kai blinked at the question, which hadn't come from Tala. He found himself staring into Bryan's strangely coloured lilac eyes, which was kind of rich coming from him since he had red.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

Sighing, Kai realised that he would probably have to give them _something_ to work with; otherwise they would just keep on pestering until he told them anyway.

"I've got too much to do. Beyblading comes second in my life now and I don't have the time for it. Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

"No, not even close," Tala stated, blue eyes hard. "But I can see that you're not gonna budge right now, so it'll have to do."

Kai stared outside, at the quickly darkening sky and then back into the living room with the broken table and sheets of paper scattered all over the floor. He was going to have to tidy up before heading off to bed, not to mention he still had to eat.

Slowly, Kai pushed himself to a standing position, pausing slightly to let the room settle into place and let the headache simmer down again after the change of altitude. He bent down and started to gather the pieces of paper together, bunching them into one pile and placing them where he had just been sitting.

"You want some help, Kai?" Tala asked and Kai was pretty certain that the questioning session was over. There would be more questions to come at a later date, but for now, the two Russians were content. He didn't reply, but both Tala and Bryan stood up and started to clear away the broken pieces of the coffee table, careful to avoid the nasty splinters.

Five minutes later, the living room was clear of all wood and paper and Kai placed the bundle of important documents into his room and ambled back out to the kitchen to start getting some food prepared. Turning to his two guests, Kai offered them a beer each.

"Did you want to stay for tea?" _God, I sound so domesticated saying that. _

"What's for tea?"

Kai almost spat out the mouthful of beer he had just drunk. That sentence was something he never imagined coming out of Bryan's mouth. It made him seem so… so _domestic_. Choking slightly, the crimson-eyed teen placed his beer on the kitchen bench and leaned against it, chuckling at the astonished looks plastered on the other Russian's faces.

He opened the fridge door and peered inside, wondering what food was edible and could be made into a meal. After much debate, he decided just to order takeout.

"McDonald's sound okay?"

"Sounds perfect," laughed Tala.

Grabbing his coat, Kai ushered the other two out of the apartment and to his car, where he had to pretty much snap Tala's jaw shut again as he drooled over the sleek muscle car.

"When the hell did you get _this!?_" the redhead exclaimed, staring at the black and white Buick GSX. Kai saw that Bryan was staring at the car too and rolled his eyes, wincing slightly as it aggravated the headache still simmering behind his eyes.

"I bought it last year. And yes, before you ask, it cost shit loads. And _no Tala you can't drive!_"

Seeing Tala pout at his last sentence was too much and Kai couldn't help but laugh. Tala Ivanov… pouting? Grabbing the keys out of his coat pocket, the slate-haired teen unlocked his car and climbed into the drivers seat, waiting until Tala and Bryan were in the car before turning the key in the ignition.

Immediately the powerful V8 engine roared to life and Kai let his lips turn into a smirk, which probably looked quite evil if anyone was watching. He revved the engine before pressing down hard on the accelerator and letting the car tyres spin and smoke before speeding out of the car park.

Once they were heading down the freeway, Kai flicked the stereo on and took out _Avenged Sevenfold_ and flicked back into its case and pulled out _Metamorphosis_ by _Papa Roach_. Placing the CD in the CD player, Kai hit the volume switch and moments later the song _I Almost Told You That I Loved You_ belted out through the speakers.

"_You know, I love it when you're down on your knees_

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And I'm a junkie for the way that you please_

_  
You shut me up, when you swallow me down_

_  
My back to the wall you're going to town."_

The lyrics to the song were rather crude, but the song had good music and a good beat, so Kai had come to like it. Also, it was the kind of song Tala and Bryan liked. He knew that it was a good ten minutes until they reached the nearest McDonalds, so Kai let the song play through and sped up, watching as the speedometer reached 100km an hour.

The purr of the engine performing had always been soothing to him, hence the reason he drove so much these days. It always calmed him down, which was strange, as after the accident, he didn't want to go near a car for months.

It was dark by the time they reached McDonalds and Kai flicked on the indicator and ushered the muscle car through the drive-thru. He ordered their meals, which all comprised of some kind of meat burger and Coke. No pansy-ass chicken for them.

Immediately, Tala and Bryan started to eat, but both stopped when Kai shot them a glare. "Don't spill anything, or you _will _regret it." Kai glared some more when all Tala did was grin through a mouthful of burger before washing it down with a drink.

"You need to lighten up a little, Kai. All this business shit has made you too uptight."

Kai felt his eyes widen. "How the hell did you find out about that?" As soon as he said it, the ex-blader saw his friend's eyes widen fractionally and mutter a quiet 'shit' before trading glances with Bryan.

"Ah, Mr. Dickinson told us. The Bladebreakers know as well…"

Great. Just fucking great. Now I'm never going to get any peace. Not if the brats know what I'm doing now. Fuck!

And it was at just that moment that the headache that had been relentlessly simmering away in his head started to pound again. Feeling as though a jackhammer was driving into his brain, Kai dropped his burger and placed a hand over his eyes. His vision wavered in and out slightly before an explosion of pain erupted from behind his partially blind eye.

"Kai!?" he heard Tala and Bryan call out, concerned. He ignored them while his right hand shot out towards the glove compartment to find the bottle of pills he kept in there for situations like this.

But just as his fingers caught the latch to open it, the pain intensified and then everything went black. The last thing he heard was the concerned voices of Tala and Bryan.

TBC

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A/N: Um, don't kill me? -runs and hides-

I hope everyone liked the chapter. It's a bit longer than usual (which I hope slightly makes up for the long wait). The plot will start to pick up soon, with the time skip finally going to happen (things just kept getting in the way!). When the time skip happens, the plot takes off big time :) Leave a review if you want to and hopefully the next chapter should be up soonish - hopefully not four months this time...

Thanks again for reading!

-DancerInTheDark101-


	6. Explanations

A/N: **I'M BACK!!!**

Yes, believe it or not, I am here with a new chapter. I know it has been a very long time since the last one (almost five months -cringe-), but I think I may have made up for it... I hope. You see, this past week I have been at my parents (they live on a dairy farm – and have NO INTERNET!!!) and managed to type out not one or two, but THREE new chapters!!! I will be uploading the second chapter in about a week, and the third about a week after that XD So, I hope that somewhat makes up for the lack of updates...

A huge thank you to the following awesome people that reviewed:** marishka91, Rapunzelle, jellybean-kitty, Miako6, Ana Caterina, -izza-x23-, PermafrostDuchess, pheonix80, Pickle Reviver, OnlyNotReally, permanent addiction, sasukechica, Phoenix07, ForeverFalling86, Kayla-m.f, Mashy-Gaara4life, FallenHope-Angel, Ninja2k, Ms. Controversy, Phoenixfyre101 and M.A.Y.4.** You guys are amazing! Also, big thanks to those who have faved or alerted this fic. So far: Faves 43, Alerts 49!!

Almost 100 reviews!!!

Now, I won't keep you waiting any longer :P

Enjoy!

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**Tears Aren't Made to Fall**

**DancerInTheDark101**

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Chapter 6

"_Kai!?" he heard Tala and Bryan call out, concerned. He ignored them while his right hand shot out towards the glove compartment to find the bottle of pills he kept in there for situations like this. _

_But just as his fingers caught the latch to open it, the pain intensified and then everything went black. The last thing he heard was the concerned voices of Tala and Bryan. _

"Kai!" Tala called out as he watched the ex-beyblader's eyes roll into the back of his head and he slumped forward, unconscious. He quickly reached over and somehow managed to plant his foot on the break before the car rolled into oncoming traffic. They were still in the McDonalds Drive-Thru.

The car being an extremely heavy vehicle, Tala had trouble trying to steer the thing into the car park, as he was still sitting mostly in the passenger's seat. His right leg was stretched out over Kai's unconscious body to reach the accelerator and break. Even though the car was a manual, he was lucky that he wasn't going to have to change gears.

Carefully, and slowly, Tala manoeuvred the muscle car into the partially deserted car park before parking sideways over three parking spaces. He slammed the break on and without bothering to turn off the ignition, jumped out of the car and ran around to the driver's door.

Kai was slumped against the door; eyes closed and face frighteningly pale, making the cobalt blue tattoos stand out in stark contrast to the milky white skin. The piece of gauze on his Tala grabbed the blue-haired teen and gently pulled him from the car, before lying him down on the ground.

"Bryan!" he called out. "Call an ambulance." The redhead leant down and slapped his friend's cheek a few times, in an attempt to get him to wake up. Kai's head just flopped to the side, with no change to his state of consciousness.

A sudden thought hit Tala, and he leant in to check whether Kai was still breathing or not. _I can't believe I forgot to check whether he was breathing or not! God... I must be losing it... _Luckily, the dual-haired teen was still breathing and as Tala pressed two fingers to the inside of Kai's wrist and felt a slightly sluggish but regular pulse, he let out a sigh of relief.

He let himself fall backwards slightly, his back hitting the side of the car as he slid to the ground. His head dropped and he pulled his knees up, his arms hanging uselessly at his side. His mind was racing a mile an hour with everything that had just happened. He couldn't think properly. Why the hell had this affected him so much? What was wrong with him?

"Tala?" Bryan's voice invaded his thoughts. "Hey, Tala? You okay?" Blinking, the Russian looked up to see Bryan kneeling beside Kai, turning him into the recovery position and checking him for other injuries. "The ambulance is on its way," Bryan continued as he felt the back of Kai's head for any injuries.

"Okay..." Tala mumbled. "Shit." Pulling himself upwards, Tala raced around to the passenger's door and leant in through the open door. Flicking the switch on the glove department, he rummaged around in the surprisingly empty space and found what he was looking for – a small, white pill bottle. He couldn't read what was on the label, due to the bad lighting in the car. (The car had no interior light, since it was and older car).

Once he was back around with Kai and Bryan, and in some better lighting, Tala took a look at the bottle. It was a nondescript white bottle. Medium in size with a white label and black typed writing. He could see Kai's name written on the top of the bottle in large, bold lettering.

It read: _HIWATARI, Kai. For use only in emergencies. Take ONE tablet when necessary. _

Frowning, the redhead turned the bottle upside and twisted it in his hands. He gripped the lid of the bottle and carefully opened it. It was one of those stupid 'child-proof' caps that should really have been 'human-proof' caps instead. They were a _bitch_ to get open. After a few seconds of struggling, Tala felt the lid give way beneath his hands and viola, the bottle was open. Peering inside, he tipped a few of the tablets out into the palm of his hand and stared at them. After careful deliberation, he came to the conclusion that they were fairly normal looking pills. They were just a standard white, not any of those fancy colours that medication was coming out with these days.

But after all that, the Russian beyblader still didn't know what they were for. The only reason he could think of, was Kai's damaged eye. Maybe the eye played up sometimes? But then, what did 'emergencies' mean? What kind of emergency could you have with an eye? Apart from going blind that was...

"What's that?" Bryan asked. Tala looked over to see Bryan staring intently at him, and at the white shape in his hand.

"When Kai collapsed, he was reaching for the glove department. This was really the only thing in there that he could've been looking for." Tala frowned and then added: "how is he, anyway?"

Bryan let out a breath. "He seems to be stable. He just won't wake up. It's strange though, because he's not even moving an inch. God, what if there's something seriously wrong with him, Tala? Before he keeled over, I noticed that he was gripping his head..."

"... Shit. That... that can't be good." Tala felt sick. His stomach had just dropped. What if there was something really, _really_ wrong?

"Where the hell is that ambulance?" the redhead demanded, struggling to get his emotions under control. Actually, he was pretty surprised that no one had come over to see what was going on. They must have seemed a real sight; one guy unconscious on the ground while two others just sat there, unaware of what to do. He looked over to where the McDonalds building was, and seeing that it was extremely busy, realised that it was no wonder that no one had come out.

It was then that Kai moaned and his face screwed up in pain. Tala dropped the bottle and rushed over to his friend as a pair of different coloured eyes opened slightly. "Hey. Take it easy Kai. The ambulance is on its way. Just take it easy."

* * *

The first thing Kai noticed as he came to was that the pounding in his head had dropped to a bearable level. He could still feel it thumping away behind his bad eye, but it wasn't nearly as bad as what it had been. _Oh no..._ Kai groaned inwardly as he realised what had happened. He, Tala and Bryan had been in the car, after getting something to eat at the local McDonalds. _Shit. I can't believe I passed out... and in the drive-thru..._

He tried opening his eyes, surprised when they obeyed on the first try. He squinted as a foreign light invaded his retinas. It wasn't bright by any standard, but it hurt. He screwed his eyes shut again as pain flashed through his damaged eye. He quickly closed his eyes, sighing inwardly as the pain was notched down a level.

"Hey. Take it easy Kai. The ambulance is on its way. Just take it easy." He heard Tala say. _Oh fuck. An ambulance? Great..._

After a few seconds, Kai once again struggled to open his eyes. The harsh light invaded his retinas again, but this time, even as he squinted, it wasn't nearly as bad as the first. Blurry figures emerged as silhouettes against a dark background and as he blinked a few times, the Russian teenager noticed that his vision steadily became better.

It took what seemed hours to fully be able to open his eyes, and when he did, Kai saw Tala and Bryan hovering over him, concern written all over their features. Kai frowned as he saw the two Russians. Concern didn't really suit them at all...

Realising that he was lying on the ground, Kai pushed his body upwards, twisting it from the sideways position it was in so that he was sitting up straight. Well, he didn't quite get to a sitting position. Propping himself up on one elbow, Kai rubbed his temple with his free hand. The headache still wasn't going away. _God, I hate this. _

"Kai!" Tala exclaimed. Kai was about to roll his eyes, but thought better of it. It was then, that that the retired beyblader heard the loud and distinct wail of an ambulance. He pushed himself up even further and blinked. He was... _in the car park of the McDonalds..._

"What the hell?" he glared at the two Russian's beside him. "Why am I in a McDonald's car park?"

They shared a glance before looking back to him and Kai waited for an explanation. "Kai, you_ collapsed!_ We didn't really think about where we were going to take you. As it was, we almost crashed into oncoming traffic because your foot stayed on the accelerator. This was the quickest option!"

Okay, so they were pissed.

"Look..." he started, fatigue washing over him. "I..."

"Save it, Kai." Bryan growled, his lilac eyes flashing. "What the hell happened?"

Kai sighed and rubbed a hand over his face as the world seemed to spin around him. "I... look, I'm fine. There's no need for an ambulance. Let's just go back to the hotel."

As expected, both Tala and Bryan exploded at his nonchalant words. "What!? Kai, you _collapsed_! I know that you don't like hospitals and all that shit," Tala said, his blue eyes narrowing, "and yeah, neither do I or Bryan, but the fact remains that you collapsed and we don't know what caused it! Plus, you've got some kind of medication that you were trying to find before you blacked out, and it reads 'for use only in emergencies'... _EMERGENCIES, KAI!_"

Shifting to get a bit more comfortable, the dual-haired teen mulled over his choices. He _really_ didn't want to stay and get it checked out. He had already been to see a doctor about the frequent and sometimes downright painful headaches he had been getting. It had taken months for him to even get that far, and even then, the tests were relentless and after weeks of being poked and prodded, the doctor diagnosed him with a severe migraine disorder – or something like that. They said that it was related to the car accident that had almost taken the sight out of his right eye.

He was going to have to tell them. Great...

"Tala, Bryan. Look, it's not a big deal." He ignored their protests and carried on. "About a year ago, I was diagnosed with a severe migraine disorder. Those pills help when there's a big attack. That's it."

They looked sceptical at his explanation. "It's the truth. I've dealt with it just fine for the past year."

Before the two could retaliate, the flashing red lights of an ambulance appeared in the car park entrance. Kai winced as the lights invaded his eyes. It wasn't long before the car park looked like a scene out of a medical drama or cop show and Kai couldn't help but roll his eyes. God, they were fussing over nothing.

Ten minutes later Kai found himself sitting in the back of the ambulance while a paramedic shined a penlight into each eye. He had to squint to avoid the glare when the small contraption was aimed at his left eye, but when the man shone it into his right one, he found it didn't make much of a difference at all.

_Shit, _Kai thought. _It's getting worse. But they don't need to know that._

He jerked his head towards the left, making the light disappear. He knew that he would be on the receiving end of countless questions about his eye if he didn't speak up and tell the paramedic. It wasn't something he wanted to divulge, since it most probably get out into the public very quickly.

And true to his prediction, the first question the paramedic asked was about his eye. "What happened to your eye? Was it like this before you collapsed?"

Kai sighed, again. _They're so incompetent. _"Yes. Look, I don't have time for this. It was damaged in a car accident a few years ago. I've got medication for it and I was diagnosed with a severe migraine disorder. An attack is what caused me to black out. If you don't believe me, then check my records."

The paramedic started to write things down on the clipboard he had clasped in his hands, the pen scribbling frantically across the white paper. Kai could only guess as to what was being written down.

"I don't have time for this. I'm going now." _I'm getting soft. I shouldn't have let them drag me into this bloody thing in the first place. I'm fine!

* * *

_

Michael Werth looked up from the clipboard to give the patient a glance. He was tall for his age – around 6'1 with light and dark blue hair. He was alarmingly pale, but it seemed to Michael that he was normally a pale person. The kid seemed to be around eighteen years of age, maybe a little older with a body that screamed of hard work. The kid obviously knew how to look after himself in that aspect.

And then there were the four cobalt blue tattoos on his cheeks. It was a weird place to get a tattoo and an even weirder design, but it suited him for some unknown reason. He had to admit that the kid was a good looking kid. Almost perfect, except for the different coloured eyes. They were a strange colour; a dark red, almost blood-like in colour. The right one was slightly darker in colour though, more of a black than anything else. He had wondered what was up with the strange discolouration when he had first taken a look at the boy. When he had shone the penlight into his eyes though, it made sense.

The kid was almost blind in the discoloured eye.

"What happened to your eye? Was it like this before you collapsed?" he asked. It was a high possibility that the partial blindness could have been caused sometime during the collapse, according to what his friend's said.

The patient sighed and Michael realised that this guy wasn't going to be an easy patient to deal with. Why did he always get the trouble makers?

"Yes. Look, I don't have time for this. It was damaged in a car accident a few years ago. I've got medication for it and I was diagnosed with a severe migraine disorder. An attack is what caused me to black out. If you don't believe me, then check my records."

Michael took in what had been said and began to write it down on the clipboard he had in the 'patient history' section. As he was writing, he vaguely heard him speak again.

"I don't have time for this. I'm going now."

_Shit! He can't leave. _Putting the clipboard down, Michael stepped closer to the teenage boy. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave. With injuries like this, we have to take to the hospital to get a thorough check up. Anything dealing with the head or brain is not to be messed around with." There was silence after his statement and he looked up to see the teen still sitting, a scowl decorating his features.

"Now," he started, after picking up his paperwork. "I'll need a name."

"..." There was no response from the boy.

"You _do_ have a name, don't you?"

"... Kai Hiwatari."

Michael gaped. His hand froze just as he was about to write down a name and looked up in shock at the teenager before him. It all clicked. How could he have not noticed it before? The trademark tattoos, the crimson eyes – well, one eye – and the dual coloured hair. Of course the kid was Kai Hiwatari; beyblade extraordinaire and resident teenage heartthrob.

But, Kai Hiwatari had disappeared from the beyblading scene all together a few years back, after the showdown with BEGA. The official word had come in two weeks later: Kai Hiwatari had retired from beyblading.

And here he was, in America, right after the end of the current World Championships.

"Ah, are you just gonna stand there and stare at me all day or what?" Kai's voice cut through his thoughts. Michael jumped a little before apologizing.

"Sorry, Mr. Hiwatari. Um, right. I'm going to also need a date of birth and a contact number for a family member who can pick you up from the hospital."

The kid—Kai was glaring again. Those eyes of his could hold some heat. "It's protocol, Mr. Hiwatari."

A resigned sigh was his immediate answer. "August 2nd 1991, my only family member is in jail, and I don't have a guardian, so will any number do?" The tone was harsh, the words blunt and Michael couldn't help but wince. Of course the kid had no family. It had been plastered all over the news years ago, and with Voltaire in jail... God, he was such an idiot.

"Ah, yes. I guess that will be fine."

Kai pulled out a sleek, black cell phone and pressed a few buttons before mumbling out a series of numbers.

"And this person's name?"

"Tala Ivanov."

_Ahh. One of his old teammates from the Blitzkrieg Boys. I didn't know that they were friends. _

It was then that the paramedic noticed Kai was looking behind him. He turned to see two teenage boys, one with bright red hair and piercing blue eyes and the other with pale purple hair and eyes seemingly the same colour, standing a few feet away.

"Is he okay?" the redhead asked, taking a step forward.

"He's fine. And you are?"

"Tala Ivanov. Will he need to go to the hospital?"

Michael nodded. "As with any problems relating to the head or brain, Kai will need to go to the hospital for a check up."

"I'm fine!" was the growled response from inside the ambulance.

Michael watched on in amusement as Tala started to argue with the patient. "Listen here, Kai. You _are going to the hospital whether you like it or not!_"

The paramedic turned to see what Kai's response would be and was surprised to see that he was actually listening to his friend, however he didn't look too happy about it.

"Right. I'm going to take Kai here to the hospital now. There's no need for anyone to accompany him there in the ambulance, so if you would just like to follow in your car, that would be fine."

Tala looked at Kai expectantly. There was another low growl from the dual-haired teen, before a quick nod followed by: "If you as much as _scratch_ that car, you are dead, Ivanov."

The redhead just grinned and walked off towards what Michael saw as a _very_ nice looking car. "Buick GSX?" he asked the scowling patient. A quick nod was his reply. Repressing the urge to roll his eyes, Michael frowned at the wince that flittered across Kai's face, before quickly being hidden. This was no time to much around.

"Alright, Kai. I just want you to sit here while we head to the hospital. There's a seatbelt there." Another nod. "Okay, good. We should be there in five to ten minutes."

* * *

It was just over two hours before Kai was released from the hospital. He had been subjected to many prods and pokes, needles and even an IV because apparently 'he wasn't taking good care of himself.' As he, Tala and Bryan were walking out of the main doors; Kai rubbed the spot on his arm where the IV had been inserted. It itched.

"Kai, leave it alone."

The Russian bluenette sighed. It was almost eleven o'clock. He hadn't eaten since lunch, the headache was still faintly there even after all of the painkillers that he had been given, he'd been poked and prodded for the past few hours and he just wanted to sleep.

They reached the car after a few minutes of walking. Tala had parked it in a crowded area with plenty of lighting. Kai smirked as he realised this. At least Tala was taking good care of his car. It was a testament to just how tired he was when he got straight in the passengers seat after Tala had unlocked the vehicle. At the moment, the ex-blader didn't trust himself to get behind the wheel.

"Ah, so who's driving?" Bryan asked. Kai glanced over at the two, shrugging one shoulder as he did so.

"It doesn't matter. I just want to get back to the hotel..." Bryan and Tala exchanged a look as Kai carried on. "But if you even put a _scratch_ on her, I will personally hunt you down and kill you slowly with a spoon. Got it?"

They both swallowed loudly and nodded.

"Uh-huh. Got it, Kai."

"Yeah... I got it."

"Good. Now, can we go? I'm sick of this damn place and all this noise isn't helping my headache. Plus, I have work that I need to get done." In truth, all Kai wanted to do was lie down and go to sleep, but he knew that wasn't an option. There had been a lot of time wasted, in which he could have been doing important paperwork for the upcoming BIOVOLT project. Now, however, he was going to have to stay up late into the night to get it done in time.

Tala started the engine and Kai shifted in his seat, leaning his body back slightly as the powerful thrum of the engine worked its way through the car. The car pulled out onto the road, merging flawlessly with the oncoming traffic and Kai noted that Tala wasn't a bad driver at all. He looked out the window, watching the buildings rush past as they sped up.

Outside, it was completely dark, the only thing illuminating the surrounding area being the street lights and lights from the buildings around them. Stars sparkled in the inky black void above them, mere spots in the vast sky. Wind rustled through the few trees that lined the streets as leaves were picked up in the wind's throes and tossed around helplessly.

The occupants inside the car were silent. Kai wasn't in the mood to say anything and it was obvious that neither Tala nor Bryan were either. Well, he couldn't really blame them. A lot had happened in the last day.

Feeling his eyes starting to slip closed; Kai quickly pinched his other wrist to keep himself awake. He couldn't afford to fall asleep now. Luckily, the headache that had been pounding for most of the day had decided it had done enough damage and had disappeared. Kai sighed in relief at that.

A sudden, loud ringing interrupted the almost awkward silence in the car. The Russian CEO of BIOVOLT flinched slightly as he had begun to doze off once again. He recognized the ringtone and before the ringing could stop, pulled out his cell phone and glanced at the screen before letting out an irritated groan.

The screen read: Mr. Dickinson.

Sighing, he pressed the 'start call' button and answered. "Yes? What do you want?" It was rude and blunt, but Kai didn't care. He wasn't in the mood for idle chit chat. And why the hell was the BBA Representative calling after eleven PM?

Stanley Dickinson's cheery voice came through the small speaker on the phone. "Ah, Kai m'boy. You are awake."

"Yes I am. Now, like I said: what do you want?"

There was a tired sigh from the other end of the line. "I received word that you had collapsed earlier. I was just calling to make sure that you were okay."

At those words, Kai felt his anger skyrocket. He turned towards Tala, who had heard the conversation, and glared. He raised an eyebrow in question and received a shrug for an answer. He did the same thing with Bryan, only to receive the same.

"Kai... Kai?"

Bringing himself back to the conversation, the bluenette shook his head to get his mind back in the game. "Sorry," he apologized after realising that the man had been calling his name for some time. "I'm fine. It's been sorted out. Didn't even warrant a trip to the hospital." Of course that last piece of information was a complete lie, but Mr. D didn't need to know that. Unless of course, he already knew...

"Ah, then that's good news."

Kai frowned. There was some kind of underlying tone in those words. The jolly man hadn't finished. But he had received everything he needed to know in regards to his 'collapse' as Tala and Bryan were calling it. _Great, there's something else the old man wants to talk about. _

"Now, Kai..." Mr. D began.

_I was right. Here we go..._

"I have been talking to the Bladebreakers." _Oh SHIT. _"And they have asked me to talk to you about a proposition."

The ex-beyblader sighed and nodded. He would humour the old man for now. "Go on."

"Well, you see... they would like for you to re-join the Bladebreakers for the next season, which begins in two months time."

The car finally pulled into the car park underneath his hotel and Kai frowned as the car rolled to a controlled stop. Fantastic, now the Bladebreakers had officially asked him to rejoin.

His thoughts became jumbled as he felt Dranzer's presence in his mind. He had left her blade in the hotel room earlier, but she had never really left his side. He didn't want to beyblade, but there was still a part of his sub consciousness that pulled him towards the sport – to feel the exhilaration of the matches, to feel the wins and sometimes the losses. God, what was he going to do? He had already told the others that he had no intention of returning to the sport, but...

Stepping out of the car, Kai pulled the phone back to his ear, unaware that he had even pulled it away. "Mr. Dickinson, I'll think about it. In two weeks I will meet up with the Bladebreakers in Tokyo, Japan and I will discuss this further then. I am very busy at present and cannot be bothered with these trivial matters. I will contact you closer to the time."

With that, Kai hung up and sighed. He looked over and saw the twin looks of shock and concern on Tala and Bryan's face.

_What the hell have I gotten myself into?

* * *

_

(Tell me in a review or a PM whether or not you think Kai should start beyblading again!)

A/N: There we go! The first chapter of Tears in almost five months! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and once again, I'm sorry for the extreme amount of time it took to get it written.

Okay, so after reading back through all the chapters, I realised that it had taken me six chapters to write TWO days in this story. So, finally, the next chapter will be the long-awaited time skip!

Please leave a review and tell me your thoughts ^^

-DancerInTheDark101-


	7. The Bladebreakers

A/N: Hello! I know this chapter was supposed to be up last Sunday, but after re-reading through it, I ended up rewriting it two times before I was happy with it. It's longer than I originally planned, so hopefully that makes up for it somewhat. A huge thanks to everyone for reviewing. I can't believe I've hit over 100 reviews!!

Also, I now have a website up that will have updates on all my fanfiction and pictures relating to them as well. If anyone wants to see the tattoo that Kai has, the picture is up on the website, which is _www(dot)phoenixfyre(dot)webs(dot)com_ – and it's under the pictures tab.

**Dedicated to: Aquila Tempestas – thanks for all your help! **

Thanks to: Darkened-Storm, aoitsuki77, SouthernDragon, Fire Lady Ursa, CryMeOut, NightShroud, xflightofthephoenix, Rapunzelle, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, Dark Shadowed Dragon, Yuliya, FlamingIce94, Ms Controversy, Mashy-Gaara4life, IloveKaiHiwatari., valfredo , GabZ, ForeverFalling86 and PWN3D,

Anonymous review replies are after the chapter.

Also, as it has been pointed out, I have made a few errors in the past chapters with birthdates and other things. I will go back and change it when I have the chance. Nothing major will be changed though.

Enjoy!

**

* * *

Tears Aren't Made to Fall**

**DancerInTheDark101**

* * *

Chapter 7 _Two weeks later_

_The shattering of glass... the burning of flesh... raw screams echoing through the carnage... the crackling of fire as it devoured everything in its path... pain gripping his body tight and unable to let go... and then, nothing. _

Kai gasped as he shot upright in his bed. A hand reached up and gripped his shirt tightly, right above his heart as he struggled to get his breathing under control again. Slowly, the bluenette managed to slow his breathing back to normal and it was then that he felt the cold sweat enveloping him. Wiping a hand across his forehead, he carefully leant back into the pillow and glanced at the red digits on the clock, which read 3:28. _Shit, it's almost four AM. _

Blinking, the teen sighed and shifted lower in the bed, hoping that sleep would eventually come. After twenty minutes of lying in darkness, he resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't be getting any more sleep that night. He was to meet with the Bladebreakers that same day and Kai knew that deep down he was worried about how it would go. That particular nightmare always seemed to come back with vengeance when he was stressed or worried.

Truth be told, he was dreading the meeting so much that it had taken him two hours just to click the button on the website to book the plane tickets. Actually, he had never even clicked on it as Tala had gotten impatient and done it himself.

It was frustrating. Kai had no idea why he was so worried over this god forsaken meeting. He kept telling himself that he didn't want to beyblade anymore and that if he went, he would most probably get roped into the team somehow. But then, there were Dranzer's annoying comments, stating otherwise. God, he didn't know what to do.

Fighting the urge to sigh again, the confused teenager slipped out of bed and switched on the nearby light. He stretched, hearing bones pop as they were relieved from staying in the same position for hours on end.

Strolling over to the set of draws on the other side of the room, Kai pulled open a few and grabbed some typical coloured clothing to wear for the day; a pair of black jeans and a button-up black shirt with long sleeves.

A yawn escaped as he made his way towards the bathroom, alerting Kai to the fact that it was still insanely early to be up. At that thought, images of a burning wreckage invaded his mind and he had to shake his head to get rid of the pictures.

Looking around the apartment he had purchased just under a week before hand, Kai realised that it was very bland. There was nothing personal about the place, apart from one single photo sitting on a table in the living room. All the furniture he had bought was black and with the off-white coloured walls, made the place very monotonous. Maybe he would paint the living room red at some point.

Kai entered the small bathroom and dumped his clothes on the floor as light bathed the white room. He walked over to the sink and looked in the large mirror hanging on the wall. Discoloured eyes stared back at him and he winced. He didn't think he would ever get used to having different coloured eyes. For some unknown reason it unnerved him.

After grabbing the eye solution and letting a few drips land on his partially blind eye, Kai blinked and let it cover the entire surface. He then grabbed a few pain killers for the headache he knew would be coming on soon enough and dry swallowed them.

A few minutes later, the teenage boy stood under a hot stream of water, eyes closed as it ran down his back and soothed his somewhat aching muscles. Sighing in content as he relaxed under the hot spray, Kai let his mind wander.

He already knew what the Bladebreakers would be doing, considering the time of morning it was, but he wondered what they were going to say when he met up with them at nine AM. He was sure that there was going to be some form of animosity from a few of them, considering how he had just disappeared without notifying any of them. But then again, he could be wrong.

Kai kind of wished that Tala was in Japan at the moment. The redhead had offered to come with him, but the bluenette had known that Tala had things he needed to attend to in Russia, and declined the offer.

Finishing off washing himself, Kai let the soap suds wash off his body and onto the floor of the shower. He quickly flicked the shower off and cringed as a jet of cold water hit him before slowing to a steady drip and then completely stopping.

The retired beyblader dried himself off and got dressed, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He could see that the weight loss had started to take a toll on him as his face was starting to look a little on the gaunt side. Slate bangs fell haphazardly into his eyes and he pushed them back before applying a little bit of gel to keep them out of his deteriorating vision.

Before pulling on his shirt, Kai stared at his chest in the mirror. He could somewhat see his ribs starting to take shape underneath his skin. Shit. He hadn't meant to lose so much weight. It was just... when the headaches got bad, the last thing he wanted to do was eat. The pain was bad enough that it made him want to throw up at times.

Cringing away from the sight of his torso, Kai slipped on the black dress shirt and buttoned it up, before rolling up the sleeves to just under his elbows, revealing his newly inked left forearm. He fixed the collar of the shirt before putting on his usual accessories, which included a silver phoenix pendant on a chain and two silver studs in his left ear.

Kai exited the bathroom and looked at the clock on the wall in the hallway and frowned. Okay, he had managed to waste almost half an hour in the bathroom, but that still meant that it wasn't even half four yet. He still had just over four hours until he had to leave. _Great... just great. _

The four hours passed slowly for the ex-blader. He tortured himself through watching a terrible movie about sparkling vampires for an hour before giving up and doing some paperwork for BIOVOLT and Hiwatari Enterprises. There was so much to do be done for the companies, but at times he just really couldn't be bothered dealing with any of it. He was only seventeen and was running two of the world's most successful beyblading companies. Hiwatari Enterprises dealt with other aspects other than beyblading, but Kai left that up to other people.

Engrossed in the latest financial reports, Kai didn't realise how much time had gone past until his cell phone rang and heard Tyson's voice screaming over the line. Eyes wide, the bluenette glanced over at the clock and was shocked to find that it was quarter past nine. _Shit!_

"I'm leaving now. Jeez Tyson, don't have a heart attack."

Hanging up, Kai froze as he grabbed his keys and sunglasses that were lying on the kitchen table. _How the hell did Tyson get his cell phone number?_

Cursing, the teen quickly locked the apartment and made his way downstairs to where the car park was situated. He spotted the gleam of his black and white car from the stairs and strode over, checking the vehicle over for any scratches before unlocking it and clambering into the driver's seat.

The engine started with a rumbling purr and Kai smirked. God, he loved this car. It was one thing he had always wanted but had never been allowed. His Grandfather had a hatred of all things America, preferring the Italian cars like Ferrari over the powerful V8 muscle cars.

He manoeuvred the large car out of the covered car park and turned left towards the suburb of Bakuten, letting his foot push a little harder on the accelerator than what was probably necessary.

The drive was quiet as Kai decided to leave the stereo off. His mind was racing a mile a minute and he was pretty sure the music would distract him even further. The last thing he needed was an accident...

Kai cringed as the thought passed, screwing his eyes shut tightly for a moment before reopening them when a car horn reverberated through the air. A small gasp left his lips as he yanked the steering wheel to get the car back into the right lane. _God. I need to get the accident out of my head. It happened years ago, why is it still affecting me the way it is?_

He was still frustrated when he pulled up at Tyson's house ten minutes later.

Turning the ignition off, the slate-haired teen leant forward and rested his head against the steering wheel. It wasn't long before a shout was heard and looking up, he saw the Bladebreakers running out towards him. The look on Tyson's face as he caught sight of the car was priceless.

"Whoa... wicked car, Kai!" The exuberant teen ogled the pristine vehicle and Kai quickly exited said car before Tyson tried anything.

He looked over to see Max, Ray, Kenny and Hilary smiling at him. They weren't nearly as boisterous as Tyson, but Kai could see that they were glad to see him. This was going to make this meeting even more frustrating.

"Hey, Kai."

It was Ray this time and Kai shook the offered hand, nodding lowly in response. Following the Nekojin towards the house, the bluenette pushed back the feelings of worry that were building and forced himself to calm down. Christ, he wasn't walking to his death or anything, so why the hell was he so nervous? _Does the idea of even contemplating beyblading again scare me that much? Huh, wait, why the fuck am I _scared_!?_

Inwardly groaning, Kai stopped himself from hitting his head against something hard at the random thoughts running through his mind. _God, I didn't realise just how much my IQ drops when I'm around them..._

The wielder of Dranzer slowed slightly as he heard the bickering between Tyson and Hilary behind him.

"Tyson! Just leave him alone! Kai's only just got here and you already want to start pestering him? Mr. Dickinson is waiting inside, so you can wait until then to talk!" Hilary's voice rose in pitch as she carried on berating the world champ about his actions.

"Wha? Hilary!" came Tyson's indignant reply. Without even looking, Kai could clearly see in his mind's eye the look on the teenager's face as he spoke. Some people never changed...

Once inside, all chatter ceased and Kai realised that it was about to get pretty serious. He looked behind him and saw the determined look plastered on all of the Bladebreakers' faces. _Oh shiiit._

Kai was ushered into the living room where Mr. Dickinson and Tyson's grandfather were seated around the low table in the middle of the area. They greeted him warmly as he sat down opposite the head of the BBA and crossed his arms on the top of the table, waiting patiently.

It took a few moments for everyone to be seated and once they were all quiet, Mr. Dickinson spoke up. Kai turned to face the elderly man, wondering what he was going to spurt out next.

"Kai?"

"What?" he tried to be civil, but with everyone staring blatantly at him, Kai found his patience wearing thin.

"I believe that Tyson has something to ask you."

The slate-haired CEO rolled his eyes and suppressed the urge to groan. Of _course_ Tyson had something to ask! They were treating this meeting as if he had no idea what it was about. God, what was it with them?

Tyson opened his mouth to speak, but Kai held up a hand and stopped the younger boy in his tracks. "Look," he explained. "I know what this meeting is about, and I'm only here because I thought I would be polite. You don't need to ask me anything Tyson, I just want you to tell me why _you_ think I should rejoin this team – and no stupid reasons either."

He didn't care that everyone was staring at him. He had been dealing with idiots for years when dealing with BIOVOLT and Hiwatari Enterprises. The only difference being that aside from being both an idiot and a moron, the businessmen he dealt with were a lot older than Tyson.

"Well..." Tyson began. "WE NEED YOUR HELP!!" Kai blinked as Tyson dropped to his knees and clasped his hands together in front of him, looking like he was about to pray. "Please, please, please....!" he begged, dark blue eyes widening in what looked like a sorry attempt at the dreaded puppy-dog eyes.

"How in the world do you need my help, Tyson? If I'm not mistaken, you've won the last three world championships without my help. Why now?"

"Well, y'see... In the last world champs, Tala almost beat me!" he whined. "He was _sooo_ close to beating me, it wasn't funny! I CAN'T be beaten, ever!"

And there was that childish side of Tyson that Kai had hoped had disappeared forever. Great...

Kai listened as all the members of the Bladebreakers went through their reasons on why he should return. He focused a little on what they were saying and made sure that he _looked_ attentive, but in reality he was mostly

'_Kai, listen to them. You know that there is a part of you that wants to come out of retirement. You want to feel the rush of the battles and the exhilaration when you win, and despair when you lose. I know you miss it at least a little, Kai. Just listen to them.'_

This was ridiculous. They had no idea what they were talking about. They had no valid reasons as to why they wanted him back, apart from Tyson's whinging about almost losing to Tala. God, he wished Tyson _had_ lost. Maybe then, he would have come back.

"Kai..."

Kai looked up to see that everyone had fallen silent and was staring at him. He could see the looks of concern written on their faces and immediately anger began to build inside him. What were they seeing in him that had triggered the concern? He knew that he didn't look terrible, so... why?

A sigh escaped before he could stop it and before he knew what was happening, he had reached up and slipped the sunglasses off from over his eyes, exposing his mismatched eyes to them all. A few of them gasped when they glimpsed the almost black-coloured eye.

"Look," he began, erasing anything that the others were going to say before it even made it to their lips. "You haven't given me one good reason to come back." There was a flurry of indignant replies, to which Kai held up a hand again to stop them. He turned to Tyson, fixing him with a steady glare. "Maybe if you had lost to Tala in the finals, then I may have had a reason to come back, but the truth is, you're good enough. You've managed to win without me and truth be told, I have _no_ intention of ever beyblading again."

Kai wished he had a camera when he saw the shocked expressions on the Bladebreakers' faces. Glancing towards Mr. Dickinson, the bluenette saw that the elder man was frowning disapprovingly. So, even old man Dickinson hadn't liked his last statement.

"And because I'm feeling exceptionally generous today, I will tell you why," he stated and even after he had said the words, he had no idea _why_ he had said them. He was digging himself into a hole, one of which he wouldn't be able to get out of easily.

"You've seen my eyes; seen the discolouration in one of them. It's a result of an accident a few years back that has rendered that eye virtually useless. I only have 15 percent sight in that eye." _Why are you saying this? Stop talking! It's none of their business! _Yet, he found himself carrying on.

"I have a life outside of beyblading, one that takes up a lot of my time," he looked towards Kenny at the next statement. "I've told you about BIOVOLT and Hiwatari Enterprises, and I'm sure not that stupid that you don't realise how much time it would take to run them. Beyblading has no time slot left in my life. You may all want to continue playing with spinning tops your entire life, but I don't. I have other responsibilities and other things I want to do."

The words were harsh and Kai didn't miss the flinch that ran through the bladers when he spoke of 'spinning tops.'

"But, Kai..."

The Russian teen looked up sharply as Max spoke. His vision blurred a little and he blinked to get rid of it, before focusing an impatient glare on the blonde boy.

"You used to love beyblading. What happened to Dranzer? How can you just _give up_? Sure, I know that running those companies must take up a lot of your time, but wouldn't there just even a little bit of time to blade?" Max's blue eyes were wide as he spoke, waiting to hear a reply.

Sighing, Kai rested his arms on the table and placed his head in his hands. He didn't have a headache – _thank god_ – but it was becoming increasingly difficult to not just up and leave. He had told them too much already.

"I've already told you, Max. _I don't want to blade_. Yes, I may still have Dranzer, but I have absolutely no interest in beyblading-"

He was about to continue when Mr. Dickinson cleared his voice. "I would like to show you something, Kai." The elder man then proceeded to stand up and leave the room, motioning for them all to follow. They ended up in another living room, except this one had a medium sized TV in the corner.

Everyone took a seat on the floor in front of the television. Kai opted to stand, and leant against the wall, sharp eyes glancing over everyone as they waited.

Mr. Dickinson produced a video tape and placed it in the machine below the TV. Immediately an image was displayed and Kai frowned as he saw the tell-tale scenery of a beyblade stadium. Voices came through the speakers and against his will, Kai found himself becoming intrigued. What was the old man plotting?

"_Well, Brad, it's another beautiful day here in New York for the finals of the Beyblading World Championships! And up today we have the heavyweights of the beyblading world: Tyson Granger and Tala Ivanov!"_

"_Yes, AJ, it certainly is going to be an interesting match today! Tyson has been struggling in this championships, barely beating Brooklyn to make it to the finals. On the other hand, Tala has been breezing through, easily defeating Ray Kon and teammate Bryan to clinch a spot in the final."_

"_It still seems weird, seeing Tala in the dish with Tyson. It's been three years since Kai Hiwatari retired from beyblading, but there is no doubt in my mind that if he were here today, it would be him in the dish against Tyson"_

"_Right AJ, it's time for the match to start! Both Tyson and Tala have entered the stadium and are ready to kick off the Sixth Beyblading World Championships finals!"_

_Tyson and Tala stood opposite each other, launchers out, faces contorted into serious expressions as they studied each other. A loud voice came over the internal speaker system._

"_Three, two, one... LET IT RIP!" _

_Dragoon and Wolborg were let into the dish, each blade spinning furiously as they circled each other, ready to attack at any given time. _

Kai frowned as he watched the match. He could from the beginning that Tyson's stance was off right from the launch. As a result, his launch was messy and Dragoon hit the dish spinning at a much less velocity than what Wolborg was.

As the two beyblades circled each other, Kai felt himself slipping back into his old role of Coach. He could see the clear differences between the blades; Tyson's raw power compared to Tala's agility and destructive power. From what he had already seen, the bluenette knew how the two were going to go about trying to win in this match.

Tyson would try for an all-out assault, trying to use Dragoon's seemingly unlimited raw power to overthrow his opponent. While Dragoon's element was Wind, that left him at a disadvantage against Wolborg, whose element was Ice.

As it was, Kai found himself being proved right. Moments later, Tyson's voice rang out loud and clear.

"_Dragoon! Hurricane Storm!" The blue beyblade shot towards the smaller, grey one, a vicious wind tearing up behind it. A blinding light emerged from the bitchip of Tyson's blade and then Dragoon was visible in all his glory. The dragon let out a ferocious roar and swooped downwards towards Wolborg. _

_In an instant, Tala reacted. He called upon his own bitbeast and within the same blinding light as before, Wolborg arrived. The hybrid wolf was half beast, half machine, with the power to control snow and ice. Tala called out for Wolborg to attack as Dragoon got closer and closer. "Wolborg! Dark Blizzard!"_

_The two powerful beasts clashed high above as their blades continued to slam into each other, sparks flying every which way. Powerful winds blew through the stadium as the temperature dropped significantly. And then the two attacks slammed into each other with as much destructive force as a hurricane and a blizzard could. _

Kai smirked as he saw what was happening. As the battle had progressed, he found himself wondering how in the hell Tyson had managed to win. Tala seemed to have the upper hand at every aspect of the match. As the blizzard and hurricane hit each other, the Russian CEO saw the air mist slightly as Tala's bitbeast started to freeze the air around them, causing Tyson's attack to become completely void.

Soon enough, the tornado that had been summoned by Tyson had been frozen in place. The winds ceased to exist and the stadium was thrown into a stage of stunned silence. With bated breath, Kai watched the screen, wondering how on earth Tyson managed to get out of this situation.

Then he saw it. His eyes widened as he realised what Tyson had done to get out of it. It wasn't anything remotely planned on Tyson's part either.

_There was a loud crack that reverberated through the silent stadium. Both Tyson and Tala looked over at the frozen tornado, sporting identical shocked expressions. Little by little, small cracks appeared in the ice, ripping through the substance like it was water. _

_Seconds later, a massive explosion tore through the stadium. Shards of ice flew in every direction and some of them pierced the two bladers' skin, causing red lines of blood to show on the otherwise unmarked skin. Following the explosion, the fury of Dragoon's Hurricane Storm was back in full force and moved forward, catching Wolborg completely unaware. _

_Wolborg was thrown out of the dish, hitting the floor hard and bouncing a few times before coming to a halt ten metres away. Everyone froze, staring in disbelief at what had just happened. Tala had been winning and then from nowhere, Tyson had come from behind to claim the win. _

"_. . . and that's all there is folks! Tyson remains the world champion once again!"_

Kai stared at the TV, frowning. Sure, Tyson had claimed the win, but there hadn't been any real strategy to the boy's win. As he suspected, the only reason the Japanese blader had won, was because Dragoon had so much raw power, much more than what Wolborg possessed. That was all. If Tyson had faced Tala with any other bitbeast, there was no way he would have won.

'_Maybe you have a reason to rejoin the Bladebreakers, Kai...' _Dranzer's voice echoed in his mind. Kai thought about it.

Tyson obviously needed a lot of work to regain the stamina and finesse he had once had when Kai had been blading, all those years ago. Maybe... just maybe he could be their coach again. Being a coach didn't mean that he had to blade either. Coaching was completely different.

It wasn't until someone cleared their throat that Kai realised that everyone was staring at him once again, waiting for a reply to a question he hadn't heard.

"Sorry... what?"

"Kai, m'boy," Mr. Dickinson queried. "What did you think?"

Answering honestly, Kai pushed himself off the wall and stood straight. "Tyson didn't win."

"WHAT!?" came the incredulous reply from several of the team members.

"Tyson didn't win, Dragoon did. If it wasn't for the raw power of your bitbeast Tyson, you never would have beaten Tala. Your skill level has gone down the drain. As for the rest of you," he in turn looked at Max, Ray and Kenny (who was an active beyblader now), "if Tyson's match is anything to go by, you have all slacked as well. If you go into the next World Champs like this, _you will lose_."

* * *

Tyson's gaped openly, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at his ex-captain. Had he really been that bad in the match with Tala? Was Dragoon the only thing that saved him from defeat? He hung his head low, ashamed at how much he had slipped in the years of Kai's absence.

His head shot back up and he stared at Kai in astonishment as the elder teen began to speak again.

"I'm not going to beyblade ever again... but that doesn't mean I won't coach."

* * *

TBC

A/N: Well, I finally finished the chapter! Hope you all liked it. Yes, the movie reference is indeed _Twilight_ and I share the same sentiments as Kai in this. I HATE the movie. I took creative licence with Bakuten – I wasn't exactly sure as to where it was, so I made it a rather large suburb in the outskirts of Tokyo. And yes, I gave Kai another tattoo lol.

Anonymous Review Replies:

IloveKaiHiwatari. – thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter. The issue with Kai blading again is dealt with in this chapter :)

Ms Controversy – thanks for the review! I can't remember whether I PM'd a reply to you or not, so I'll reply here lol. I'm glad that you like the story so much. Sorry this chapter wasn't uploaded last week, but I'm hoping to have another chapter up next week :D Ahh, I have no idea about the right hand/left hand drives lol. I live in New Zealand, so it's different I think. I'll just claim creative licence lol... Oh, and Skylines are illegal in Canada? Wow, they're so common here....

NightShroud – thanks for the review! Glad to hear that you like the story ^^ Hope you liked this chapter as well.


	8. Training

A/N: Hi all! So sorry for the long wait for this chapter. See note at the end for an explanation.

I wanna say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I got 27 reviews for the last chapter! That's the most I've ever received for one chapter.

Thanks to: Fire Lady Ursa, -izza-x23-, AquilaTempestas, Dark Shadowed Dragon, Mashy-Gaara4life, ForeverFalling86, PWN3D, Ms Controversy, mimic shalle, GabZ, , Rapunzelle, The Swordsman, .Out, A Neverending Dream of Flight, xflightofthephoenix, FlamingIce94, ILoveKaiHiwatari, Taijia Mizu, SouthernDragon, NightShroud, marishka91, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, Ludovikka, Darial Kuznetsova, lilsilverphoenix and Zodiac10001.

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**Tears Aren't Made to Fall**

**DancerInTheDark101

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**

_Chapter 8_**  
**

"WHY DID WE WANT HIM AS COACH AGAIN!"

And so started the continuous moaning from none other than Tyson Granger, the current world champion. Kai had wasted no time in figuring out their current abilities and weaknesses, so after letting them have a few hours for lunch, he took them to a nearby park and had them running laps.

"Shut it, Tyson!" the slate-haired youth barked at the younger boy as he passed him again. Kai looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. So far, they had been running for approximately half an hour. Ray had managed to do sixteen laps around the field, while Max had done twelve. Tyson however... he had only managed to complete eight and he was struggling.

Sighing, the newly instated coach picked up the pen and noted down his observations. After reading over his notes, he determined that Tyson was in need of some serious endurance training. And who better to teach him than an ex-blader who excelled in endurance?

He called the three panting teens to a halt and they grudgingly made their way over to him. He let them have a drink before revealing to them what the next plan of attack was.

When they were finished, Kai stood in front of them. He reached up and took the dark sunglasses off and glared at the three, not missing the wince as they caught sight of his discoloured eye. "Right," he stated. "Your endurance needs a little work." Shooting a look at Tyson, who swallowed nervously at the gesture, Kai continued. "But we can work on that later. Right now, I want you have a three-way battle. And don't hold _anything _back."

There was no response from the startled bladers except for an open-mouthed stare. Sighing, the crimson-eyed coach struggled to hold his impatience back and not yell a rather large string of cure words at the three.

"Did you not hear what I just said?" he asked, knowing full well that they did. Kai didn't know what the problem was. There was no problem with having a three way battle, was there? And he needed them to go all out so he could figure out what their weaknesses and strengths now were.

"Hey, just wait a minute!" Tyson yelled, his dark blue eyes narrowing suspiciously. Kai frowned. What the hell was he suspicious about? "Why do you want us to have an all-out battle?"

"Do I really have to explain _everything_ out to you, Tyson?" When there was no reply, just more dumbfounded looks, Kai groaned and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. Just _why_ had he decided to coach them again?

"If you really must know, Tyson, it's so that I can find out just _how much you suck_." Of course, that wasn't the real answer, but Kai figured that getting Tyson riled up was the easiest way for the world champ to listen to what he was telling them to do.

And it worked spectacularly as Tyson's eyes narrowed even more in anger and his fists clenched at his sides. "Fine!" the Japanese teen growled. "Max, Ray, c'mon. Let's show the Ice Cube here just how much we _don't _suck!"

Kai glanced over at the other two, who were glaring at him as well. The Russian teen rolled his eyes, expertly hiding a wince as a painful throb made itself known. It would be an interesting battle, especially when they were so angered. Would their anger over something (or in this case someone) that wasn't even apart of the battle hinder their skills at all?

Watching the three get ready at the beydish that had been set up, Kai thought about what Tala and Bryan, and what they would be doing back in Russia. He knew that they would almost be beginning their training for the next circuit, even though the first competition was at least five weeks away.

It seemed that the way the world championships were being run had changed very little since the last time he had competed. Each region began with their own, well, regionals which the winner then went on to represent that region in a national competition. After that, the world championships began with several matches played all across the world, each team gaining points if they won or lost. A win was worth five points while a loss was two. If a draw was the outcome, three points were awarded to each team.

When the lead-up matches were finished, the points were tallied and the top eight teams were matched up so that there were four battles. The winners from those battles then faced each other in another two battles, until there were only two teams left.

However, this year they had added in an extra feature. When the points rounds were being played, there was to be an extra points system running – an individual points tally. The same rules applied as the teams points; five for a win, two for a loss, three for a draw.

With this running as well, it gave contestants whose teams didn't make the final six cut to still have a chance at the world individual title. Kai liked this rule the best. It could mean that if Tyson did really badly in the points rounds, but Max and Ray did well and the team still made it through, Tyson may not be through for the individual championship, but would be for the teams.

It made it that much tougher for the competitors and added a little extra tension to the teams, as one member could make it through to the individual finals, but the team might not make it to the team finals.

This years World Championships were going to be very, very interesting. And the fun thing was – Kai wasn't going to tell Tyson and the others about the new rules until after the national competition. There was no point telling them if they never made it to the world champs, was there?

But he had told Tala and Bryan the new rules, which was going to give them an advantage over the Bladebreakers immediately. But that's how Kai wanted it. He wanted Tyson to have to actually fight for his title this year. And if he came out on top, it meant that he had earned it fair and square. And if he didn't... well, it just meant that he hadn't worked hard enough.

Noticing that the three were ready to begin the battle, Kai nodded to Kenny, who was not participating in this match and was sitting a safe distance away, his laptop out and ready to record any and all data.

"Three, two, one... Let it rip!"

The three blades were launched at once, gaining speed before being slammed into the dish at different points of impact. Kai immediately noticed that all the launches were slightly off. To the untrained eye, they looked perfect. But the Russian, who had been virtually brought up around beyblading, saw that Dragoon had landed slightly on a tilt to the right, which seriously decreased its speed as it entered. Kai quickly wrote under Tyson's column on the paper he held in his hand –_launch_.

Both Max's and Ray's launches weren't too bad, but Max's posture upon launching was going to need to change. At the present time, the way he held the launcher kept him from maximizing the speed of the launch and with his heavier blade, could become a sever handicap in future battles.

Under the Max column, he scribbled _launch, posture_.

The grey, white and green beyblades circled each other mercilessly, sparks flying from where the metal parts were grinding together. A frown settled upon Kai's features as he made a note to talk to Kenny about streamlining their blades to reduce friction.

"Dragoon! ATTACK!" Tyson called upon his bitbeast first, which was something Kai knew he would do. Even after he had told him that he relied far too much on the power of his bitbeast, he still went ahead and used it without thinking. Dragoon obeyed immediately and rushed towards Draciel, who was spinning in the same spot, just off the centre of the dish.

That was something Max was going to have to work on. Just as Tyson relied too heavily on his bitbeast's power, Max relied too much on his defence and Ray relied too much on his agility. That was the main downfall of this team.

When Kai was still apart of the Bladebreakers, each of them had specialized in a different area. Max had been defence, Ray's was agility, Tyson's had been the power of attacking and he had specialized in endurance.

Together, they were the perfect team and with the right planning, they were able to take on any opposing team and win. However, now that Kai was gone (well, not gone. Just not competing), the team was off-balance. And with the individual points co-existing with the team points, they had to master all areas of blading to be able to win convincingly.

"Draciel! Evade!" In an instant, the heavy green beyblade moved out of the way of the rushing Dragoon. He barely made it away in time before Ray was moving in for the kill while Max was distracted with Tyson. "Drigger, let's do it!" came the command from the black-haired teen.

A shining green light erupted from the grey beyblade and moments later a magnificent White Tiger with piercing green eyes hovered above, a loud roar ripping through the air, announcing his arrival.

Drigger shot towards Draciel at an astounding pace. Kai was shocked to see how powerful Ray still was, but then something caught his eye and a smirk formed. At first glance, Ray looked powerful. His speed was incredible and just to look at the Tiger sent back shockwaves of power. But when you looked closely at both beyblade and blader, you could see that at the speed the blade was travelling, Ray was having a hard time controlling it fully.

The White Tiger was unstable at that speed, Ray obviously pushing it too hard for what it was able to handle in a bid to impress him. Kai bit back a laugh as he looked around at the three boy's faces. It looked like they were _all_ trying to impress him. So much for the anger that they had so clearly displayed earlier.

Moments after Drigger appeared, so did Dragoon and Draciel. Kai could feel the raw power emanating from the three beasts and knew that if they came to head there would be damage on an unimaginable scale. The bladers didn't have enough control over the power of their bitbeasts yet. It was a miracle that no one had been seriously hurt.

He needed to stop that happening. He knew that he had told them to not hold anything back, but that was before he realised just how little control they had. "STOP!" he yelled at the three, but they ignored him, intent on the final clash that was about to happen. Shit, he needed to stop it and fast.

Kai started towards the beydish, pulling Dranzer out as he did. He didn't know what he could do, since he didn't have a launcher, but he couldn't do nothing. However, he was too late. Just as he reached the side of the dish, amidst the swirling air of Dragoon's Hurricane Storm attack, the three bitbeasts finally clashed.

A huge shockwave erupted from the centre of the beydish, knocking Kai and the others off their feet. Kai's head smacked into the ground hard and he blinked, seeing stars. The world swam in and out of focus before eventually settling and as soon as it did, he sat up slowly, hiding a wince.

Surveying the damage before him, the Russian teen decided that until they could control their beyblades, Tyson, Max and Ray would be training _without_ their bitbeasts. If they couldn't control a simple spinning top, then what chance did they have in controlling the huge powers of their ancient beasts?

The answer?

None.

_

* * *

That night...

* * *

_

_The pain that flowed through his veins set his body on fire, like liquid nitrogen invading a substance and ripping it apart molecule by molecule. There was heat, coming from an unknown source, flames licking at his body and scorching his skin._

_Screams echoed in the distance, unsure of whom or what they belonged to. Nothing was clear anymore. Everything blurred into each other; the twisted frame of what used to be a car, the night sky littered with flickering stars; even the white-hot flames dancing the dance of death merged into the metalwork. _

_He could hear voices talking to him, as if they were standing right next to his ear, whispering their strange words with an accent he couldn't place. There was a blinding light and then the pain erupted like molten lava over his face, the epicentre through his right eye. He screamed. At least he thought it did. It was hard to hear anything above the immense cackle of flames or the screaming of twisted metal. _

_Since when were inanimate objects able to scream?_

_Moments later, all sound disappeared and looking up, he could see more flames. Although, these ones didn't seem to be burning as hot as the others, but were just as bright. Unable to see out of his right eye and his left was watering so much he could barely see, but he could make out the outline of strange animal – one he had never seen before. It was being devoured by the same flames that were eating at the metal cage he was trapped in. _

_Another light burst through the fire encased metal cage. This time it was a blue light that kept flickering on and off at regular intervals. Somehow, it was soothing. The melody of flickering lights; those from the stars, the flames and the unnameable blue light, calmed him and soothed his senses. _

_The sounds from the carnage around him quietened and he could finally hear the slow pounding of his own heart, the wet gurgles of his own exhales; the sound of his own death. And then, everything faded into oblivion as one last scream echoed through the night air. _

Kai shot up in bed, gasping for breath as sweat trickled down his face, falling into his eyes before he brushed a hand across them. God, that was one of the strangest dreams he had ever had. He knew it was about the accident, but it was so different to any he had ever had – so vivid. But why now? Why this dream? None of it had made any sense. That's not what had happened... so why?

After his car had collided with the truck, he had passed out fairly quickly and there had been no way in hell he would have been able to see anything.

Letting out a low groan, the confused teen looked over to the clock situated on his nightstand and blinked as he saw the time. 11.49 PM. Shit, he hadn't even been asleep for half an hour. Maybe he was just stressed?

The day had been a nightmare. After testing the Bladebreaker's on their skills and being completely baffled by their obvious lack of said skills, he had informed them that for the next consecutive week of training, they would be _without_ their bitbeasts. Of course, that statement had been met with about as much enthusiasm as Japan had when Hiroshima had been bombed.

After telling the shocked bladers that they _weren't_ going to die without their bitbeasts for an entire week, he had called off practise for the rest of the day and gone home to go over his notes and see what on earth he could possibly do to help the Bladebreakers. It was going to take a _lot_ of work.

Sighing, Kai flicked on the light next to the bed and slipped the blankets off before getting out. He padded across the room and into the adjoining en-suite and also flicked on that light. Looking into the mirror, he could see clearly the discolouration of his right eye, the result from it being damaged in the accident.

He reached into the cabinet and pulled out a much-used bottle of eye-drops. After releasing a few drops into the partially-blinded eye, he blinked and distributed the clear substance in a film across the surface. Then, in a random act of... he didn't know what, he lifted his left hand and covered his left eye.

It wasn't something he had ever done before, probably because he didn't really want to know just how bad his eyesight was in his right eye, but after that dream...

Kai had closed his eyes just as he covered his left, but seconds after, he slowly opened his right eye and couldn't help but sigh. He could barely see anything, just a blurry outline in the mirror. It wasn't that noticeable when he was using both eyes, but using only his right eye...

The doctors were right; he was probably going to need more surgery to fix the almost-gone sight. Shit. That was the last thing he needed. He was so sick and tired of doctors and damn surgeries to fix things that might never be able to be fixed. God, maybe he should just resign to the fact that for the rest of his life he was going to be half blind...

Taking his hand away, Kai blinked until the vision in his left eye fixed itself before heading back into the bedroom, dry-swallowing a few headache pills before dropping back into bed. Maybe he should go back to his doctor; because the headache-prevention pills he had been given weren't doing shit to stop the headaches.

He lay back against the headboard before turning off the light and drifting into a somewhat peaceful slumber, hoping that he wasn't going to have anymore strange dreams about the stupid accident.

Because that day, he was about to start re-training the Bladebreakers and he was going to need every ounce of sleep and patience he could get.

TBC

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A/N: Well, it's a bit shorter than any other chapter, but I really wanted to get this one out. I guess I owe you an explanation as to why it's been so long since I last updated, huh?

The quick version: the last few months have sucked royally. First, my flatmates had a party when I wasn't there and my house got trashed, then their friends ended up stealing my TV and wall bracket that it was attached too. I kicked them out and it got ugly and they ended up being trespassed from the property. Then, to top it all off, my cat of 10 years died suddenly.

So I wasn't really in the mood to write. But everything's slowly getting better now :) Haven't heard from the police about my stolen TV, but I ended up getting a better (and bigger) one anyways hehe.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I hope that it won't take as long to finish the next one.

Sorry if I didn't reply to your review. I forgot who I had replied to and who I hadn't...

See you next time! Thanks for reading.


	9. Unwanted Phonecalls

A/N: OMG yes I am alive! Sorry it's been so long since I last updated this thing (well over a year…) A lot has happened since I last time I was on this site – one of the saddest being that I got a new puppy last September –named Kansas- and he died just a little over two months ago :(

Real Life has been bloody hectic and I have felt extremely bad with every passing month that I never updated. I honestly thought about this fic often, but never had the inspiration to write it. Not sure what changed so suddenly lol. Also, **thanks for everyone who has reviewed/read/favourited/alerted this story. You guys rock!**

**(You can thank Ms. Controversy for this chapter. It was after reading one of her fabulous fics (Dirty Little Secret) that I finally got the urge to write this. So, thanks!)  
**

In exciting news: the rugby world cup starts in a few weeks! Whoo! (Being from New Zealand, I am very much in love with the game haha).

And even more exciting: I am going to America next year! I have been waiting to go there for _years_ and I'm finally doing it! Going to be bloody expensive though lol.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now and let you all get on with reading the new chapter. Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

**Tears Aren't Made to Fall**

**DancerInTheDark101**

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Chapter 9 _One month later_

Kai Hiwatari sighed and lay back against the headboard of his bed, closing his eyes against the slight beam of sunlight filtering in through the gap in the curtains. Breathing deeply, he snuck a glance at the digital clock situated beside the bed and groaned at the time. 6.34 AM… He was supposed to be meeting the Bladebreakers at 9 to discuss the next part of their training. So now he had three hours to kill.

Groaning, the slate-haired teen pushed back the covers and sipped out of bed. Dressed in a pair of baggy grey pants and a white singlet-top, he ambled over to the bathroom of his latest apartment. Turning on the cold tap, he splashed some of the water on his face in an attempt to get rid of the haze filling his mind.

The teenager then proceeded to start his morning routine which included a scorching hot shower and then the task of taking all the medication that had been prescribed to him. Over the past month, the headaches had been getting slightly more frequent (but not more painful, thank god) and he had been receiving sudden bouts of nausea at the most inappropriate times – like in the middle of training.

As he swallowed the pills, Kai grabbed the bottle of eye drops and squirted three into his almost-blind eye. He didn't know how much longer he would be able to see out of it and to be honest, it was scaring him a little. It seemed that every time he looked in the mirror, that eye was a little more hazed; a little more vacant.

After dressing in a pair of black jeans and a black button-up shirt, he rolled the sleeves up to the middle of his forearms – revealing part of the flame tattoo on his left arm – and slipped on a black and silver studded belt. Running a hand through his hair, the ex-blader decided to put a little bit of gel into his unruly hair and styled it as he normally did.

Wandering back into his bedroom, Kai looked at the time again. Good, he had wasted half an hour.

Quickly calculating the time difference between Japan and Russia, Kai decided that even though it would be the middle of the night in Russia, he would call Tala and see how things were going in that part of the world.

Ring… ring… ring…

After several more rings (Kai counted seventeen in total) there was a snapped and somewhat sleepy hello answered on the other end?

"Tala? It's Kai."

"_What the fuck? Kai?" _Tala definitely sounded more awake now, Kai mused as he listened to the slight ranting of his friend.

"_What the hell Kai? It's just after two AM! I'd just gotten to sleep too. Fuck you, man."_

Kai laughed at that. Tala definitely sounded like he needed the sleep. He always swore a lot more when he was tired. They all did.

"Sorry. But I've got another two hours to waste before I have to meet with the brats again, and I was bored."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Tala?"

"_You were bored…"_ the words were laced with disbelief. _"So _naturally_ you decided to call fucking Russia when you knew it would be in the middle of the night! I repeat, what the hell Kai?"_

Rolling his eyes, Kai held the phone receiver away from his ear at Tala's raised voice. "TO be perfectly honest Tala, I thought you would have still been awake."

"_Oh," _was the ever-eloquent reply.

There was a minute of awkward silence where neither teen knew what to say. "So," Kai started. "How's training going over there?"

_"Uh… huh? Oh yeah, training's going alright I guess. Bryan's managed to almost control the new attack and Spencer's increased Seaborg's power by about 10 per cent."_

"And you? How's Wolborg coming along?"

_"Managed to upgrade his blade a little without slowing it down, so that's a start at least. I'm more focusing on getting Bryan and Spencer stronger at the moment. I can train myself later. There's still months to go before the world championships."_

"True."

"_And what about you? How's training going with Tyson…?" _The question was almost hesitant and Kai had to laugh.

"Tyson will always be Tyson. I haven't let them use their bitbeasts in a month-"

_"WHAT?"_

"I made them have an all-out battle and came to the conclusion that none of them could control their bitbeasts properly. So I took them away. They've been training without them for almost a month now and I can see the improvements starting to take form."

_"Wow. That's pretty intense. I guess they're going to give us a real run for our money this year, huh? Have you told them about the new points system yet? Surely they would have heard about on the television or something?"_

Kai sighed. Yes, he had in fact told the Bladebreakers about the new points system. It hadn't gone down too well with Tyson at all. He didn't like the fact that his teammates would now be gunning for him too. And to make it even more difficult, they all knew each other's attacks like the back of their own hand. These world championships would surely be an interesting one.

"Yeah I've told them – about a week ago. None of them (especially Tyson) were too happy about it. I think they've all decided to have sperate training sessions as well now, to develop new attacks the others don't know about. It's quite funny really. Tyson's freaking."

Tala laughed on the other end. _"Yeah he would be freaking out. In the past he's always had his teammates to help him get to the top, but now those teammates will be pulling in two different directions. They'll want to help him win the team champs, but will also be gunning for him so that they have a chance to win the solo. But I suppose that will be the case with every team out there. The Bladebreakers just have the unfortunate problem of _being_ the world champs."_

"Yeah." Kai pressed his head against his shoulder so that the phone was wedged in place as he stood up and started to rummage through the fridge for something to eat.

_"So how is everything else, Kai? You still getting those headaches all the bloody time?"_

"Yeah, but they're not as painful as they were when we were in America." Kai knew that Tala and the others were worried that he was over doing it and that was the cause of the headaches, but Kai had a feeling it was something else entirely. What it was though, he had no idea.

"_Shit Kai, that's pretty bad. You been to see a doctor yet?" _The warning in Tala's voice made Kai wince. The members of the Blitzkrieg Boys had tried and tried to get him to see a doctor and he had – but he hadn't exactly been truthful, that's all.

"Fuck Tala, you know I went because you _made _me…"

_"But have you been since then?"_

Kai frowned as he listened to his friend speak. "You sound like someone's mother, Tala. It's not a good look for you, acting all motherly towards others. You'll ruin your reputation y'know."

_"Very funny, Kai. Anyway, I'm going to get some shuteye now because I need the sleep and you decided to be a pain in the ass and wake me up. Keep me updated with what's happened in your neck of the woods."_

"Sure, you too."

_"And Kai?"_

"…yeah?"

_"Go see a fucking doctor would you!"_

And with that – no goodbyes or anything like that – the connection was cut and Kai was once again bored with nothing to do.

Placing the phone back on the cradle, Kai opened the fridge door again. He had shut it before and had spent the rest of the conversation with Tala staring at the silver door. Inside, there wasn't much to be honest. A carton of milk, some cheese and a few other bits and pieces. God, you'd think that he didn't eat at all. Grabbing the milk, Kai opened a nearby cupboard and produced a blender. Pouring the right amount of milk into it, he also emptied a few different types of fruit into the machine and hit the power button.

Once the smoothie had finished being blended together, Kai emptied it into a glass and decided to get some of the paperwork done that he had been putting off for a few days now. It was the registration forms for the Bladebreakers for the upcoming qualifying tournament.

It had only been revealed a few days before, that even though they were the world champions, the Bladebreakers would still have to qualify to become the Japanese national beyblading team to compete at the world champs. So now, on top of all the BIOVOLT and Hiwatari Enterprises work, he had the bloody paperwork of his team to complete too.

Shifting through the forms, he came to the member registration part. Letting out a long breath, the slate-haired teen began to fill them out.

Fifteen minutes later, he had finished filling out everything he knew about Max, Ray, Tyson and Kenny. And now he had encountered a problem. He was officially registered as their coach, but did he want to put himself down as a substitute blader if he was ever needed? Biting his bottom lip in frustration, Kai quickly signed his name under the 'blader' section before he could change his mind.

Massaging his temples, Kai sat back in the chair and closed his eyes, letting the morning sun wash over his tired body. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was eight fifteen AM. Almost time to go.

Kai went back into his bedroom, grabbed a bag and slipped the paperwork inside. The Bladebreakers would have to sign their registration forms before he could hand them over to the BBA. Grabbing his keys off the kitchen bench, Kai locked his apartment behind him as he prepped himself for another day in hell.

* * *

_Meanwhile at the Granger household…_

"TYSON!"

_Splash!_

"Gahhhh!" A blood-curling scream rose from the depths of the house as Tyson Granger was woken from his slumber. Sitting up in bed, the teen was wide-eyed and gasping after having a bucket of ice-cold water dumped all over him. Standing in the doorway of his room were two of his best friends; Ray Kon and Max Tate. And they were holding the blue bucket of doom, which had until only moments ago, held 9 litres of icy water.

"Max! Ray! That was so unfair!" Tyson grumbled as he shivered. His PJ's were soaked and now he was freezing.

"It was time to get up Tyson, and you just weren't getting up. We had to take drastic measures!" Max grinned, his blonde hair falling into his eyes.

"Yeah… well…" Tyson stuttered as he tried to come up with a good excuse, but failed. It was too early in the morning. Yawning, he pried his soaked shirt away from his skin. "What time is it anyway?"

Ray looked at his watch before answering. "Almost nine AM. Kai's going to be here any minute now and if he sees that you're still in bed…" The statement was left hanging and Tyson screamed again.

"Gah! Shit, crap, bugger, dang it!" He quickly jumped out of bed, staring at the mess of blankets that were soaked right through. With a quick shake of his head to get himself into action, the world champ raced over to his dresser and grabbed his clothes and ran to the shower.

Ten minutes later, Tyson was ready for action. He ran into the kitchen and was virtually salivating at the smell of the blueberry pancakes frying away.

"Mmmmmm," he murmured, "pancakes!" He made his way over to the table, only to stop short at the sight of his coach standing in the way, two-toned eyes narrowed in what Tyson could only call anger.

Uh oh… Tyson thought as he skidded to a halt, a wary grin forming as he stared at Kai.

"Hn. Hurry up and eat Tyson. I'm not in the mood for your antics. You've got work to do."

Tyson couldn't help it. His mouth dropped open in shock. Did Kai just… _let him off the hook?_

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Tyson quickly grabbed a chair and flung himself in it, piling up the nearest empty plate with a delicious stack of pancakes and topped them in maple syrup and whipped cream.

After five minutes of non-stop eating, Tyson finished. He sat back with a sigh of content and smiled happily.

"Mmmmm, that was good. Thanks to whoever cooked!"

"Training. Now." Kai's voice cut through his reverie of blueberry pancakes, syrup and cream. Heaving a great sigh, Tyson groaned, but obliged. He couldn't really say no when Kai had let him eat breakfast. Normally the Russian coach would have made him go without.

Ray, Max and Kenny trailed behind the two, talking amongst themselves as they made their way to the training ground. Immediately, Kai made them pair up (Tyson with Max, Ray with Kenny) and battle each other, once again without their bitbeasts. He wandered between the two pairs, observing their technique and advising them on what they could improve on.

"Max if you straighten your elbow a little when you pull on the ripcord then that will give you more stability on the launch and Draciel will enter the dish at a higher velocity."

"Tyson, if you would just _concentrate_ instead of blabbering about nonsense then you might actually get something achieved!" Kai yelled, even though he was impressed with how much Tyson had improved since he had become the coach again.

"Ray, you're putting too much strain on Drigger at the launch. He's spinning way too fast for the blade to handle and eventually it _will_ fall apart. Kenny's going to have to upgrade it significantly to keep it at that speed, but it will take time."

By the time three hours were up, Kai called a break. Just as he sat down on the grass, away from everyone else, a buzzing in his pocket informed him that his cellphone was ringing.

Puzzled, Kai pulled the black contraption out of his pocket and looked at the caller-display. It read: _blocked number._

Pressing the 'answer call' button, Kai put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

_"Hello. Am I speaking with a Mr. Kai Hiwatari?"_

"…yes."

_"Ahh, good, good. I am Dr. Kowelr, one of the doctors at the Tokyo Memorial Hospital. I understand you came in for a few tests about a month ago?"_

"Yes. What is this about?" Kai asked, completely lost. Yes, he had gone in for a few routine tests, but never before had one of the doctors called him about any of them. They just informed him of everything when he next went in, which he was due to go in just a few weeks.

_"We have received some of the test results back and were wondering if you would be able to come in and discuss them."_

"Why? What did you find?" Kai questioned. He was getting a little angry now. Fucking doctors and their pussyfooting around. He wished they would just tell him and get it over and done with.

_"I would prefer to talk to you about it in person. When would you be able to come in?"_

Kai thought about it. Letting out a breath, he realised he wouldn't get _any_answers unless he went and talked to the stupid doctor.

"I can come in any time after three this afternoon."

"_Good, good," _the doctor repeated and Kai rolled his eyes. _"I shall see you then, Mr, Hiwatari. Just ask for Dr. Kowelr when you get to the main reception."_

"Whatever." With that, Kai hung up, one thought repeating over and over in his head so much that he didn't notice the stares he was receiving from the four teenage boys standing only a few feet away.

_Now what!_

TBC

* * *

A/N: Chapter 9 is finished! Once again, sorry for the long wait. Thanks for reading! The plot is slowly beginning to unfold and if all goes to plan, some answers will be provided in the next chapter :)

I know the chapter is a bit shorter than the rest, but I _really_wanted to get this uploaded for you all.

Thanks again!

Rachel


	10. Meningioma

Sorry for not updating for so long. Can't guarantee how long it will be before the next chapter, but hopefully not a year (again…) I'm currently still jobless (moved to Australia a little over a month ago), so with all that free time on my hands, you never know.

I have revealed answers in this chapter XD.

As for the medical stuff in this chapter: I have researched it. Quite a bit actually, but I'm not a doctor, so some stuff may be incorrect. I have tried my hardest for it all to be medically accurate though.

**Lastly… a HUGE thanks to everyone who has supported this fic so far. Have almost reached 200 reviews! **

**Please, please, please review and let me know what you thought!**

* * *

**TEARS AREN'T MADE TO FALL**

**DANCERINTHEDARK101**

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CHAPTER 10 – Meningioma

**LAST TIME**

_"We have received some of the test results back and were wondering if you would be able to come in and discuss them."_

_"Why? What did you find?" Kai questioned. He was getting a little angry now. Fucking doctors and their pussyfooting around. He wished they would just tell him and get it over and done with._

_"I would prefer to talk to you about it in person. When would you be able to come in?"_

_Kai thought about it. Letting out a breath, he realised he wouldn't get__any __answers unless he went and talked to the stupid doctor._

_"I can come in any time after three this afternoon."_

_"__Good, good,"__the doctor repeated and Kai rolled his eyes.__"I shall see you then, Mr, Hiwatari. Just ask for Dr. Kowelr when you get to the main reception."_

_"Whatever." With that, Kai hung up, one thought repeating over and over in his head so much that he didn't notice the stares he was receiving from the four teenage boys standing only a few feet away._

**NOW**

Kai strode into the hospital, glare fully in place and his two-toned eyes narrowed. He'd left the Bladebreakers half an hour earlier, stating that he had somewhere to be and left them to it. He might have thrown in a threat or two before leaving, just to make sure that they stayed on track and worked on everything they needed to improve on. As soon as this stupid hospital appointment was over, he would head back and keep training them until dinner time. They were running out of time before the start of the preliminary matches leading up to the World Champs.

The Russian had driven to the hospital, his black and white Buick GSX now parked in a secluded spot away from the majority of parked cars. He didn't want the car to get damaged now, did he?

The hospital was large, easily fifteen stories high and spanned the entire block. As soon as he walked through the main entrance, Kai squinted slightly. The interior of the hospital was brightly lit, fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling in the hundreds. The headache that had been quietly and almost painlessly simmering away suddenly bloomed into a full-blown headache; the sharp spikes of pain rippling through his head.

Blinking through the pain, Kai narrowed his eyes in an attempt to block out most of the painful lighting and made his way over to the reception desk, were several nurses were stationed.

As he reached the curved white marble desk, one of the nurses looked up rom her computer and smiled. "Hi there. How can I help you today, sir?"

Grimacing slightly at the high tone of the nurse's voice, Kai hid his discomfit away and looked at her name badge. It read _Heidi_. "I have an appointment at 3.00 PM with a Doctor Kowelr," he stated, already sick of the whole thing.

"Your name please?"

"Hiwatari. Kai Hiwatari," the Russian responded. The nurse typed his name into her computer and looked at a few things on the screen before glancing back up at him. Kai frowned. Something wasn't right.

"It looks like Doctor Kowelr has been called away to surgery, due to a multi-car pileup on the freeway. He's going to be unavailable for at least a few hours."

Taking in a deep breath, Kai attempted to calm himself. Unbelievable… after all that, the fucking doctor wasn't even available? Why the hell couldn't he have just told him over the phone?

"But…" Kai was broken out of his thoughts as the nurse started to speak again. "Another doctor is available. A Doctor Campbell has been brought in as a second opinion for one of your latest test results. He's currently available if you'd like to see him instead?"

A bad feeling raced through Kai. They'd brought in a second opinion? For what? The last tests he'd had done were mostly to do with his damaged eye. Maybe he _was_ going to have to have another surgery on it? His eyesight was almost gone in that eye, so what good would surgery do? Unless it could stop the god-awful headaches he'd been victim to lately.

"Doctor Campbell will be fine," Kai said after a lengthy pause.

The nurse typed a few more things before picking up the phone and calling who Kai assumed was Doctor Campbell. A few short, clipped responses later, the nurse hung up. "If you head up to the fifth floor, take a right and head towards where it says Examination Rooms, Doctor Campbell will meet you at the information desk just before the sign."

Without bothering to say thanks, Kai headed towards the elevators. He took the elevator to level five and headed right, immediately spotting the sign hanging from the ceiling that said Examination Rooms. A doctor was already waiting by the desk.

At first glance, Doctor Campbell looked young. He had light brown hair and was wearing the traditional white coat; around 6 feet tall and of medium build. On closer inspection, Kai could see that the man was easily in his mid-forties, with grey speckled throughout his brown hair and creases around the corners of his dark blue eyes.

"Doctor Campbell?" Kai asked as he reached the desk. The doctor nodded.

"Yes, that's me. I take it you're Kai?"

Kai stayed silent, only nodding slightly to confirm the doctor's question. He wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. The sooner they got this over and done with, the better. He had other things to do.

"Alright, the silent type huh?" the doctor joked. When Kai said nothing again, the doctor chuckled. "Okay, follow me and we'll get this underway."

Several minutes later, Kai was seated in a rather large exam room. Doctor Campbell sat across from him, pulling up a few files on his computer before revealing a folder that had his name stamped across the front.

"So, I've been informed that you're here to discuss the results from your latest tests?"

"Yes." One word answers would make the process go so much quicker, Kai thought.

"The last time you were here, they took some blood, took a look at your eyes and did an MRI? That correct?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I just want to have a quick look at your eye again, if that's alright," the doctor asked.

"Sure. Whatever."

Kai was prompted to move over to the exam bed. He sat down on the hospital grade sheets before wincing as a penlight was shone into his eyes. First the left, which he winced and pulled away a little and then the right eye – his damaged one. The light didn't make much of a difference at all due to the near-total blindness that had been slowly getting worse over the past few months.

The doctor scribbled a few notes onto his clipboard before motioning for Kai to follow him back over to the desk. After sitting again, Kai glanced over at the doctor, seeing the serious expression that filtered across his features. Crap.

"Look," Kai growled. "If something's wrong, just spit it out already would you? I've got other shit to do and I really don't have time to be mucking around here of all places!"

Doctor Campbell sighed, one hand going up to rub at the back of his head before grabbing the clipboard in front of him.

"After your most recent tests, I was brought in to consult on your case. Doctor Kower's been worried about the deterioration of sight in your right eye. I know that it was initially caused by a car accident a few years ago, but even then, you should not be losing vision as quickly as you are. Which is why Doctor Kowelr ordered for the MRI to be taken last time. He wanted to check and see if there were any other underlying problems that he might have missed."

"Let me guess. He found something?" God, if this reject was just going to tell him he needed more surgery on his damn eye… Cutting the damn thing out would be a hell of a lot easier! Especially if it stopped the headaches from occurring so frequently.

"Yes, he found something. Kai, you've got an Atypical Meningioma or known as a Grade II Meningioma."

"A what?"

Doctor Campbell sighed. "You've got a brain tumour, Kai."

And just like that, Kai's world came crashing to a stop.

Kai felt his mouth drop open in shock. A brain tumour? He had a fucking tumour in his _brain_? For the first time in his life, Kai found himself speechless. He went to speak, but found that nothing was coming out. His mind was running a hundred miles an hour, trying to process the one sentence that had sent his world to hell.

Huh. It was fucking typical that he had a brain tumour! Of course, as if the shitty childhood, serious car accident and other crap weren't enough. He just had to go and get himself a nice lovely _brain tumour_!

Rubbing a hand over his face, Kai pinched the bridge of his nose as the headache came flaring back to life. Taking a deep breath, the crimson-eyed teen composed himself before looking back up at the doctor, who was staring at him with worried eyes.

In the doctor's hand was a print out of a scan. It showed the human brain and Kai figured that it was his brain – a scan taken from when he had the MRI done last time.

"See this black area here?" The doctor pointed to a part in the centre of the brain where a black smudge was mixed in with the lines and shapes of white. Kai nodded, he saw it.

"That's the tumour."

That sealed it then. This wasn't some sick, twisted joke. He really did have a brain tumour. Fuck.

"Is it cancerous?"

The doctor shook his head. "No, luckily this type of tumour is not a cancerous type. But that doesn't mean it isn't just as dangerous."

"What happens now?" Kai knew that he should probably be in shock or something after being told what he'd just been told. But for some reason, he was kind of numb. He could see that Doctor Campbell was a little confused at his response, but Kai couldn't bring himself to care. To be honest, what kind of doctor told a patient that he had a brain tumour when the patient had no support or a guardian present? Not that Kai wanted anyone to know about this latest…development.

"I'd like to schedule another MRI and do a few more tests, just to see how rapidly the tumour is growing. From your file it looks like you're suffering from severe headaches and vision loss, which are both symptoms of this particular type of tumour. I'd also like to do a biopsy, just to make sure that we've diagnosed the right type of tumour and do some tests on the biopsy. Then, we'll begin on treatments."

A biopsy? They wanted to open up his head and get a tissue sample from in his brain? Double fuck. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

Leaning back in the chair, Kai sighed. "What treatments are there?" That's what he was worried about. Because it wasn't cancerous, he was hoping that chemotherapy wasn't going to be needed.

"There are several types of treatments available for this type of tumour. We have the option of surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, but that will depend on the current size and location. Or there is radiation therapy. There are several ways we can use the radiation therapy, but I will have to consult with a radiation oncologist after we have determined more about the tumour to discuss the best option for you."

"What if I don't want treatment? What if I'm fine just the way things are? I'm sick of hospitals, getting poked and prodded. I'm sick of surgeries and coming out on the other side and finding that it's done nothing!"

"Kai… I highly recommend that you start treatment as soon as possible. Even without another MRI, based on the severity of your symptoms, the tumour is fairly large already. Delaying too much could case catastrophic results."

"I need some time to think."

"Okay, Kai. If you wish…" Kai stood, ready to leave. He was ready to put as much distance between the hospital and himself as soon as possible. "But please, take these and have a read through them at least."

Looking down at the pamphlets on the desk, Kai saw that they were all related to the type of tumour he had. At a quick glance he saw that one was about treatment, one about the type of tumour and several others relating to the same topic.

After muttering a 'thanks' and 'goodbye' Kai left the room. He could hear Doctor Campbell saying something about setting up a time and date to do an MRI, but Kai tuned him out. And to be honest, the doctor creeped him out a little.

Once outside, Kai felt the first seeds of panic begin to settle in. How the hell was he supposed to run _two_ multi-million dollar international companies, coach a beyblading team _and_ deal with treatment for a fucking brain tumour? It just wasn't going to happen.

Sitting down on a low, stone wall, Kai leant forward and placed his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands. He didn't want anyone to know about the tumour. It was just going to make everything more difficult; especially if the Bladebreakers ever found out…

What the hell was he going to tell Tala? The other Russian teen would know something was up the minute he saw him. He was going to have to tell him.

The crimson-eyed teen sat up before pulling out the cell phone in his pocket. He snapped it open before opening up the contacts folder and scrolling through before reaching Tala's name. Ignoring the time difference, Kai dialled his friend's number.

After a few rings, Tala answered.

"_Kai? What's up?"_

"I've got something I need to tell you."

"_Uh, okay. Spill."_

Kai took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy. He knew that as soon as Tala found out he would be on a flight to Japan as soon as possible, and he would bring Bryan with him.

"I, uh, went to the doctors…" _Great one Kai,_ he thought. _Stumble like an idiot. Now Tala definitely knows something's wrong. _

"_Yeah?"_ The shock was evident in Tala's voice. The redhead obviously had thought that he was going to have force him to go.

"One of the doctors called me this morning and said that he had the results from my last batch of tests that he wanted to discuss with me."

"_And?"_ Tala was getting impatient.

It was now or never. Kai sighed again.

"I have a brain tumour."

As Tala exploded on the other end of the phone, Kai never saw the three figures standing in the shadows behind him, shock written all over their faces.

* * *

Yes, it is insanely short. I just found myself losing my train of thought after writing all that medical stuff, so I opted to end it there. I hope you liked the explanation. It was my initial plan to not reveal this for quite some chapters, but with my updating schedule lately… I decided to change it and put it in now.

I have no idea if this chapters reads anywhere near the same as any of the others. I felt quite disjointed writing it – maybe because it's been almost a year since I've written anything Beyblade related. So I hope you all enjoyed reading the chapter. I honestly can't say when another chapter will be written, so I hope this tides you over somewhat!

Thanks once again for all the support over the years.

PLEASE REVIEW! I would really love to hit 200 reviews XD

-DancerInTheDark101


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